The Phantom of the Dragon Temple
by The Mystery Apprentice
Summary: Robin was not happy. Why, you ask? Simple, they had gotten caught. With no way to escape or get word to the League, how are they going to get out of this one? Mentions of Reverse Aged Robins.
1. Chapter 1

Arc 1 : The Phantom of the Dragon Temple

Robin was _not_ happy.

Why, you ask?

Simple, they had gotten caught.

Maybe he should start from the beginning.

It had started as a normal mission. Batman had come in and told them that he was sending them (minus Superboy, Zatana, and Rocket, who were all doing things with their mentors/training) _covertly_ -he'd stressed that word as much as he could while still maintaining his Dark Knight persona- to gather information on a deal going down between the League of Shadows and a small gang that they had decided to ally with for some reason or another.

The mission itself had started off well. Their plan was to sneak into the warehouse and hang around in the rafters to listen to the thugs' negotiations. They had not been expecting for Ra's al Gul himself to be there. One wrong move on Kid Flash's conscience later (he sneezed, yes _sneezed_ , Robin was never going to let him live it down - if they survived, that is), and they found themselves suddenly surrounded by dozens of heartless assassins.

They fought bravely, but no matter the fact that they were teenagers trained by the best superheroes the Earth has to offer, they were still just _teenagers_ , and were all rounded up within a half-hour.

They were brought to their knees before Ra's, who decided it would be a good idea to use them as an example in front of an orphanage/monastery -that had been rebelling recently- of what would happen to them if they didn't fall back in line.

So here they were, chained and injured and tired, being forced to walk up a long flight of old steps somewhere in... Japan, maybe? Robin wasn't sure, he had taken a hard hit to the head during the fight that was making it difficult to concentrate, probably -no- most definitely a concussion.

 _*Robin,*_ the sound of Miss Martian's mental voice is a welcome one, breaking him from his thoughts -and throbbing headache- and allowing him to focus a bit better on their rapidly declining situation. _*How are you doing?*_

 _* 'Astrous,*_ he tries to keep the whine he knows is there to a minimum, _*Anyone got a plan yet?*_

 _*No,*_ Kalder is the one who answers, _*unless the League gets our distress signals, I do not think we will escape.*_

 _*Well that's just great,_ * it's Kid Flash this time, _*so, what? We just toddle along like good little lambs to the slaughter?!*_

 _*Shut it, Baywatch,*_ Artemis hisses, _*you're the one who got us into this mess in the first place.*_

He snorts and is obviously about to retort when Megan stops them with a quiet _*Guys!*_

The Mind Link goes silent and they continue to follow their captors up the mountain. Robin can't help but to wonder how their gonna get out of this one. He hoped that someone, _an_ y _one,_ with connections to the Justice League, or even just a hero -or antihero- in general would pick up on their distress signals, but he doubted it. Ra's most likely had his people jamming it, after all.

The hands on his arms suddenly tightened, pulling him to a stop. He hadn't noticed -he blamed the concussion- but they had reached the top and were now standing in the center of an old courtyard. It was in the classic Japanese design of wooden walls and slanted roofs, with uneven stones underfoot and tall poles bearing different colored flags.

All around them, gathered at the edges of the plaza, are the residents of this ancient landmark. Robin feels his stomach drop. Not only are there adults -monks- but there's also dozens upon dozens of children of all ages. Was Ra's really about to kill them in front of little kids?

" _People of The Phantom Dragon Temple,"_ despite how messed up his head is right now, Robin can easily understand the native tongue Ra's is speaking, _"I have grown tired of waiting for you to send your Tributes to me. But no one can say that I am not a merciful ruler. Present your Tributes to me now, and there need not be bloodshed. If you do not"_ -the old man swings his arm towards the restrained Team of captive teens- _"they will be the first to die."_

For a moment, everything is still. Then, Robin spots a stirring in the small crowd in front of the largest building, the one directly before them.

The people part down the middle like the adult heroes do when Batman is in one of is moods (they'd probably do the same thing for Cardinal and Flamebird if they ever met them) to allow an _**extremely**_ elder gentleman to walk between them from the porch. His mocha skin is so wrinkled that it hides his eyes from view, and his scalp is completely hairless except for the immaculately groomed mustache and beard (Hey, if immaculate meant without stain or blemish, did that mean maculate meant un-pure? ...Sorry, wrong timing.) His clothing was what you would expect from a monk: loose fitting, breathable, colored in faded oranges and brown, the works.

When he stops a few yards away from Ra's, the two seem to have a staring contest, waiting for the other to make the first move.

 _*Robin, can you understand them,*_ it's Kalder asking.

 _*Yeah,*_ he answered, _* I can. Megan, feel free to use my mind to translate over the link.*_

 _*Right.*_

" _Head of Demons, please, I beg you to reconsider. The Land's Protector, our dear Dragon, has recently returned to us. He will not take kindly to such a threat on his land, especially against the children. Continue on this path and you will doom us all."_

 _*You have got to be kidding me.*_ To his right, KF is looking at the Elder in disbelief. _*They don't actually think that dragons exist, do they?*_

 _*It's a part of their culture , Kid,*_ Robin can't help but to correct. _*They don't know any better.*_

" _Your Dragon is not real. It is just a story your ancestors told to dismiss the poor handling that broke your so-called artifacts."_ Ra's almost looks gleeful -well, if you ignore the fact that his face doesn't really change expressions- as he says this, before motioning behind him, causing Robin's guards to drag the Boy Wonder towards him. _"You made your refusal clear, so I will make myself clear to you."_

Robin's forced onto his knees with his teammates mental voices shouting in his ears. Calmly, the youngest Bat meets Ra's eyes watching dispassionately as the assassin pulls his sword from it's sheath and stalks toward him.

"Ready to die, Fledgling?" the question is posed in a quiet mummer as the man raises his weapon over the boy's head.

"That depends," the boy mummers back, "are you ready to deal with my Family?"

Ra's just chuckles in that same quiet whisper. "With you gone, Fledgling, they won't stand a chance."

The sword drops.

The Team's yells are no longer confined to his mind.

And, for one moment, as he watches the blade arc toward him, Robin sees his life flash before his eyes. His time in the circus, with bitter sweet memories of his parents; his first day with Bruce and his new older siblings; discovering the Bat-Cave; becoming Robin, the newest Fledgling, name chosen in honor of his life before; meeting the Justice League and, later, their partners; meeting Superboy and forming the Team; and all that followed after. His only regret was that he wouldn't get to say good-bye to them, and thank them, especially his Father-figure and brothers and sister and Grandfather-figure, for taking care of him and helping him when he was down. He was going to miss them.

A strange sound, almost like a laser-gun being shot, hits Robin's ears. A poisonous green light fills his vision, then clang and flunc and the shinc of sharp metal being buried into rock, and everything falls silent, leaving the Boy Wonder to blink spots out of his eyes.

 _*Guys?*_ Robin sounds shaky, even to himself. _*What just happened?*_

 _*Whoa,*_ KF sounds just as shaken as Robin feels. _*I guess **that's** their Dragon.*_

The spots clear and Robin looks around, finding that all the inhabitants of the monastery have fallen to their knees, bowing so low that their faces almost touch the ground, heads pointed toward the main building.

Finally, he spots what everyone is staring at.

Just before the front of the wooden steps, floating a few inches off the ground, is black clad humanoid. Dressed in ancient Japanese cotton shirt, pants, and equally old fashioned shoes and black straw hat, lower face covered in clothe of the same dark color, and his green eyes _glowing_ and lighting up his face, he's a sight to behold, especially with the white aura surrounding him.

This _being_ raises his arm, pointing an intricately designed sword at Ra's, before falling still.

" _What-what is this!?"_ Ra's spluttered.

" _I warned you, Demon's Head."_ The Elder says from his kneeling position on the ground. _"Our Dragon does not take kindly to threats against those he considers his."_

For a moment, everything is silent.

Perhaps, Robin thinks, we might get out of this alive after all.

Suddenly, Ra's turns on his men with a shout of "What are you waiting for?! Show these fools the power of the League of Assassins!"

Immediately, half the grunts that came with them abandon their guard of the Team and charge at the ancient Being before them, quickly proving their effort futile, as the so-called Dragon lazily flicks it's sword at them, sending out a _wave_ of glowing green energy, just a shade or two off from being the same color as the Green Lantern's. The assassins are all flung back, hitting the ground _**hard,**_ as the energy curves upwards and back around towards its wielder, then swirls around said being, taking on a different shape. A leg here, a horn there, scales detailing themselves along it, and suddenly they're looking at a ferocious Eastern Dragon with it's foot-long claws digging into the stone underneath it and a terrifying ( _silent_ ) snarl pulling at it's lips.

All is still as everyone stares, then Ra's turns on his followers.

"What are doing, you fools?! Don't just stand there! Attack!"

The assassins hesitate, then all of them, even the ones guarding the Team, charge.

Yet again, they don't get far.

The Dragon unravels from it's Master, roaring in a tone that can't be heard-only felt- as it rushes towards those who dare challenge it.

At the last moment, it pulls up, soaring over it's opponents, then turning and strafing the land with a shimmering light blue-cyan mist that blocks Robin's vision.

Once again, it is silent but for the sounds coming from inside the mist cloud, sounds Robin can only associate with the _creaks_ and _groans_ of fast forming ice (never let it be said that Mr. Freeze is an easy opponent) and a cold chill settles over the mountain top.

As the Dragon stills in the air over it's creator, the cloud thins and disappears, allowing everyone to see the _statues_ hidden inside.

 _*Oh, gosh,*_ Megan "sounds" vaguely horrified, and a bit faint.

 _*Dude*_ KF says "breathlessly," _*That's just sick.*_

 _*Whoa,*_ Artemis agrees.

The assassins are now a collection of grotesque ice sculptures, frozen mid-run and mid-scream in the ethereal cyan substance. Robin, while used to such sights, has to admit that it is _not_ a pretty one.

The Being in front of them turns it's attention to Ra's, floating forward through the still bowing locals and the frozen assassins alike, then stops just within striking distance of it's sword, coincidentally bringing it to about four feet away from Robin.

" _YOU HAVE TRESPASSED ON MY LAND, THREATENED MY PEOPLE, AND TRIED TO SPILL THE BLOOD OF AN INNOCENT."_ The voice is chilling with it's soft tone and startling echo and Robin fought back a shiver. _" BUT I AM MERCIFUL. LEAVE,_ _ **NOW**_ _, AND NEVER RETURN."_

Ra's face seems to be turning an interesting mix of pale white and dark red that Robin can only recall seeing once after a prank gone wrong (don't ask, just... don't ask) and is obviously debating the merits of fight vs. flight, before finally speaking. _"I will need my men returned to me."_

The Being doesn't show any kind of movement, but the assassin popsicles wink out of existence. _" AND YOUR PRISONERS SHALL REMAIN HERE WITH ME."_

" _Wai-,"_ then the old fart is gone too,and the Being turns to Robin and the Team. It lifts it's sword and, without touching them, flicks it five times.

Immediately, Robin feels the wire that had held his wrists together slacken, allowing him to finally pull his hands in front of him. The Fledgling stands, slowly at first, then fully as he realizes the Being before him isn't stopping him.

" _Um, th-thank you...for the assist."_ Robin gives it a ninety degrees bow – he hadn't quite finished his Japanese Culture course book, so he hoped this was correct – and straightened again to look this Being in the eye. It dipped it's head in acceptance, re-met Robin's gaze, and seemed to be blown away in the breeze, leaving the Team and the villagers behind.

~! #$%^&*()_+

It doesn't take long for the League to reach them, but by that time, the monastery had gone back to it's regularly scheduled program as the Elder made sure the Team had gotten a place to sit and some water while they waited for their mentors to get them.

Within half-an-hour of their arrival, the proteges have been bundled up and begun the journey back to Mt. Justice.

After they have time to recover, Batman calls on them to debrief.

When they finish, Batman grunts and turns towards the Zeta-tubes. "Go home, Team. Rest. You will be expected here tomorrow at 1:30 sharp for escape training so this doesn't happen again. Robin, let's go."

"Wait!" KF shouts. "That's it?! You're just going to leave us hanging! What about that dragon guy?! Who is he?! What is he?! You can't just walk out of without telling us!"

The Team stands in silent agreement, all glaring at the Dark Knight, even Robin, who really wants to go home and curl up in his comfy bed and sleep for a week – and maybe take some ibuprofen for his migraine.

"When we have the answers, you'll get them." With all the grace of the vampire he looked like, Batman restarts his stalk to the tubes. "Robin."

 _"Recognized: Batman 0-2; Robin B-01."_

~! #$%^&*()_+

 **(AN)**

 **Thanks for reading. This will be the first fic I've ever posted and is un-beta-ed, so if you spot any mistakes, let me know so they can be fixed. Also, if you would like me to continue, feel free to say so (er... write so?... never mind)**

 **That said (written?), be sure to leave a comment, like, and subscribe (record scratch) – no wait, that's Youtube. Uh, reviews?...**


	2. Chapter 2

Arc 1 Part 2 : Search for the Missing Phantom Protector

 **Disclaimer (forgot last time) : People, we're on fanfiction. It's in the name.**

" _So what happens now? I can't go back home and I know that I can't hide out here forever. If I do that they'll catch me eventually."_

" _That is correct. Which is why I have sought out a sanctuary, of sorts, for you. A remote place, with kind locals, a cool breeze, and..."_

" _..."_

" _In need of a protector."_

" _..."_

" _..."_

" _Where?"_

" _You know where..."_

" _This-this is..."_

" _It is."_

" _I-I haven't seen this since – but how?"_

" _Nothing is ever truly lost."_

" _..."_

" _..."_

" _Thank you."_

" _Take care of yourself, Daniel."_

" _I will, Clockwork."_

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+ _

_THHOOOOM!_

 _*Wally, on your left!*_

 _*Got it, Miss M.!*_

Out of the corner of his eye, Robin sees Kid Flash dodge the green, glowing bird that had tried to ram into him.

As Robin flips and throws a cluster his (modified) bombs at his own opponent, he attempts to figure out when it had gotten so bad.

He supposes it had started when a minor town hero (anti-hero? territorial villain who refused to share?) went missing. Of course, no one really noticed at first. After all, he was the same kind of creature as those who where attacking them, and they still had their _human_ protectors. What difference is one less "spook" going to make?

The answer?

 _ALOT._

Within two weeks, the human "experts" had been overwhelmed (not whelmed, not whelmed at all) and these "Ghosts" had spilled out of the town borders.

Not even a day later, the League had taken over the operation of rounding them up and sending them home, the Team joining a week later.

It was a slow-going and never-ending job.

Example?

The talking ghost vultures in fez hats that just _keep coming back!_

They were always after something, whether it be stealing tech, attempted assassination, or anything in between. They always seemed to be out and about, and no one knows how they keep escaping.

They're an annoyance on a good day, however easy to catch. Well, by themselves at least.

Unfortunately, they weren't by themselves today.

They had four other animals with them today: a four-armed bear, a two-headed lynx, a mole that's eye was on a stalk above it's head, and a fiery wolf with six inch claws, making it hard to capture them all.

Thankfully, the entire team was there today, so hopefully they could get this done quickly.

 _*Hah!*_ Artemis' gleeful voice burst through the mind link. _*Gotcha! That's the mole down guys!*_

 _*Nice!*_ Rocket says. _*Aqualad and I have almost got the bear.*_

Somewhere to his right, there was loud pop and a vacuum sound.

 _*Wolf and I got the wolf.*_ Superboy reports.

 _*Great! I could use some help with the lynx.*_ Zatanna says.

Robin takes his capture capsule from his belt and sucks in the dazed ghost vulture he'd been chasing before it could recover.

 _*Vulture #2 is down,*_ he reports.

The Boy Wonder turns to look at Miss Martian and Kid Flash, who are finishing their own birds. Once they're caught, they make their way out of the building and to the bio-ship, where the rest of the Team is waiting, including Zatanna, looking a bit worse for wear, but okay.

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

" _Come now, Daniel, we were having such fun. You're not going to let the arrival of a few bumbling oafs like the Guys in White and Jack Fenton stop our little play date, are you?"_

" _Forget it, Plasmius. You can play around with the Jerks in White if you want. I've got more important things to do. Like homework."_

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

The Team was gathered in the Cave, watching as Batman pulled up pages on the holo-screen as he prepared to bring them up to date on the search for the missing Phantom of Amity Park.

"From what we were able to discover, the Phantom disappeared into the Ghost Zone after a particularly rough encounter with the Guys in White, the Fentons and the Wisconsin Ghost, and never returned. It has been decided that there will be an expedition into the Ghost Zone to search for him. The group will consist of the Fentons, two Guys in White agents, four League members, and two members of this team, that you are to decide amongst yourselves. They need to be chosen by Saturday, we will be leaving the Friday after."

With the briefing done, Batman leaves through the Zeta-tubes and the Team turns to each other.

"We should handle this choice logically," Kaldur says. "The same way we chose team leader. We will nominate the ones we think would be best for this mission, and then vote. That said, I will go first, by nominating Robin."

"Wait, really?" Robin can't help the large grin that spreads across his face. "Thanks!"

The Atlantian nods and looks to the rest. "A second for Robin?"

Wally pumps his fist. "Definitely, dude!"

Kaldur dips his head in acknowledgment, " Any opposed?" No one does. " then Robin will be our first representative. Robin, please nominate our second."

Robin looks over his teammates, and tries to think about this logically, just like his leader said. As much as he liked her, M'gann was immediately out. It was proven fact that ghosts – and ectoplasm in general – fed on, manipulated, and super-charged emotions. She had been overwhelmed (heh) many times the last 2-and-half months. Robin really didn't want to know what would happen if she went into the Ghost Zone.

Superboy was out too. Two words. NO. SUN.

And as much as he enjoyed the entertainment it provided, if he chose Artemis or Wally, they would start arguing, and nothing would get done.

He also knew that Raquel's class was going on a field trip that she had been looking forward to, so she was out.

That left Kaldur and Zatanna. They both had pros going for them. They both had magic, which had been proven highly effective (pokemon reference for the win) against ghosts and they were both cool under pressure, which was good. But there were also the cons. Zatanna was limited by the fact she was still learning and hadn't mastered her magic yet. Kaldur, on the other hand, _had_ mastered his magic but was limited by his need for water.

Hmm, Z or Kaldur?

Kaldur or Z?

Well, might as well return the favor.

"I'll go with you, Kaldur."

He looks surprised for a moment, then nods. "As you wish. Any seconds?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Robin spots Wally pouting at him while Raquel seconds for Kaldur.

"Any opposed?" Though some look disappointed, none do. "Then we are done here. I will see you tomorrow, my friends."

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

" _Targets are splitting up. I repeat, targets are splitting."_

" _Let the Fentons have the Wisconsin Ghost. Catch the Ghost Boy!"_

" _Roger."_

 _PEW! PEW, PEW, PEW!_

 _PEW!_

" _Arhh!"_

" _He's been hit! Phantom is down, I repeat, Phantom is down!"_

" _What on Earth?!"_

" _That's the Fenton kid!"_

" _NO! Great, he phased into the ground. Now what?"_

" _We wait. We know who he is now. We'll capture him when he least expects it."_

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

Dick Grayson, in full Robin uniform, sans mask, triple checks his equipment as he sorts through his bag and suit/belt contents in the Bat-Cave. The week and a half leading up to the expedition had passed quickly in the midst of last minute prep work, and now he and Batman were getting ready to leave Gotham in the capable hands of the rest of the Bat-Clan.

With his preparation done, the youngest Fledgling takes a deep breathe and turns to head to the Bat-Jet only to almost run into Terry and Tim, the only two of his brothers that can be in the same room as each other and act (relatively) civil.

Dick beams up at them. "Hey, guys!"

Tim returns the blinding smile – despite the almost black circles underneath his eyes – while Terry gives a small fond one.

Tim comes forward and ruffles the tiny acrobats hair. "Hey Baby Bird." Then continues onward.

 _I love you. Come home soon._

Terry bends over in front of Dick so they're at the same height, while slipping the mask the teen was about to put on out of his fingers and raising it to fit it over said teen's eyes.

Once he's sure the mask is secure, Terry straightens to his full height and ruffles Dick's hair as well. "Be good, Dicky-bird."

 _You are just as important as the rest of us. Be careful while you're gone, but don't worry about here._

 _I love you. Try not to give Bruce a heart attack with your antics, K?_

Robin gives him a two fingered salute and brushes arms (well, shoulder to arm, at least) with him as he runs past, cackling. "Will do!"

 _No promises. I love you too. What's to worry about? You're strong._

~! #$%^&*()_+

 _I have to get away – they know – can't let them catch me – Clockwork! Clockwork will know what to do!_

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

Robin stands off to the side of the crowded gray lab with Aqualad as they waited for the adult Fentons to finish last minute calibrations on their Fenton Spectral Speeder 2.0. Apparently, it was both bigger and sturdier then the first.

Robin studies those around him. There are a baker's dozen GiW agents, all hurrying about there tasks, with a glaring red head – the Fenton's 17 year old daughter Jazz – bearing down on them. The two agents coming with them, K & O, were standing at attention near the Speeder, impatiently waiting for their fellow hunters to finish up.

The League members going were Batman (obviously), Black Canary, Wonder Woman, and Doctor Fate, who - believe it or not - had been to the GZ before. Fate was going to guide them to an acquaintance who would most likely know where the Phantom was. The only problem was Fate had admitted to not knowing if said acquaintance would share that information.

 _Ka-thunc._

The sound of the engine paneling latching into place drew everyone's attention to the Fentons, who were dusting themselves off as the stood.

"Alright, everybody!" Mrs. Fenton called. "Everything's all set!"

Mr. Fenton bounces beside her. "Yeah! Now we can go teach those ectoplasmic scum whose really in charge!" Mrs. Fenton raises an eyebrow at him. "A-and find the ghost boy, of course."

"Let's go everyone, to your places!" Mrs. F. shouts while clapping her hands.

Those going climb into the Speeder and buckle-up.

Once he's settled, Robin looks around. He and Kaldur are in the back seats, right in front of the tightly secured, but slightly hap-hazardous luggage pile.

In front of them are Black Canary and Wonder Woman, who are quietly exchanging words.

Before them, manning the side weapons control panels, are the two Guys in White, who seem to be muttering about procedures and protocols to themselves.

In front of _them,_ was Batman and Doctor Fate. Fate because he would be guiding them, Batman because, well, no one would deny the Dark Knight.

At the very front, in the driver's seat and co-pilot's seats, were Mrs. and Mr. Fenton.

The Speeder itself was the same dull gray as the lab outside, with green lines flowing through the metal here and there, broken up only by small, round windows and the huge windshield up front.

"At this time," Doc. Fate stands to address all present, " I would like to remind you that under no circumstance are you to open fire on the residents of the Eternal Realms without them doing so first. Keep in mind that there, _WE_ are the invaders, and no one enjoys their home being invaded. Thank you."

The GiW agents don't look happy about this announcement, and neither do the Fentons, but they acknowledge the Lord of Order's words.

"Alright." Mrs. F. says. "Let's begin. System check?"

"All systems are go." Mr. Fenton returns.

"Starting engine. Jazz, would you open the portal, please."

 _"Portal's open, Mom."_

"Then begin countdown."

 _"10."_

 _"9."_

 _"8."_

 _"7."_

 _"6."_

 _"5."_

 _"4."_

 _"3."_

 _"2."_

 _"1."_

 _"Engage."_

There is a subtle jerk from the craft, then they fly smoothly into the large circle of the neon green that is the portal.

Once through, they're world turns completely green.

Robin stares in awe of the dimension they have just entered. Everything's the same green that Robin had recently come to associate with ghosts and ectoplasm, small islandswith strangely colored vegetation and differently shaped purple doors floating through out.

"I know where we are," Fate says after a moment. "Continue straight for now."

Silence falls as they travel. Robin entertains himself by keeping his eyes fixed on the world around him, watching the ghosts around them go about their day surprisingly peacefully compared to the ones they'd encountered back on Earth.

Suddenly, the Speeder lurches, halting in it's path.

Robin turns to see what had stopped them.

A white ghost stands (floats?) in front of them, blocking the way. He looks like a sheriff wanna be, with his black western hat and boots, white suit and the fact that he is holding a thick book.

" _A Real World item in the Ghost Zone,"_ he says, _"that's against the Rules."_

"Allow Fate to handle this." The Lord of Order disappears from his seat in one of his signature Ankhs, reappearing between the ghost and the Speeder. "Hold yourself, Sheriff Walker. I, Doctor Fate, the Lord of Order, command it."

" _Fate?"_ The ghost, Sheriff Walker, stiffens and pulls at his collar. _"I-i must admit I am_ _surprised. W-what are you doing here?"_

"That does not matter. Let us pass."

" _O-of course."_ With that, the Sheriff winks out of existence.

Another Ankh, and Fate was back inside.

"Fate has intervened. Let us continue."

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

 _The monastery. Why didn't I think of that. I'll have to repay him somehow, especially since he found the sword they gave me. I wonder if they still remember me from that crazy outing through time._

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

"We have arrived."

Robin looked at the tower Fate had indicated. It's a dark blue-gray and is structured like any other old clock tower, except for the facts that it's got bunch of gears sticking out of it and it's floating on a rock slab in the middle of green space.

As the Speeder stilled in front of the platform, the large double doors slowly open on eerily quiet hinges.

"We are expected. Come."

"Wait!" Mrs. F. shouts. "We don't know if the air here is breathable!"

"I assure you, it is safe." With that, Fate opens the Speeder's doorway and exits.

For a moment, everyone sits in shock, then the Fentons and the agents scramble after him.

The League members exchange stares, before Batman nods.

"Aqualad, remain here with Black Canary and Wonder Woman. Robin, with me."

The inside of the tower is filled with gears and strange circular mirrors, all in the dark colors of blue-gray and green. It's a bit hard to see in here, but Robin is used to Gothem, which is way worse, so he'll manage.

He and his mentor catch up with the others, who are standing in the center of the room.

" _Welcome."_

As one, the expedition members whirl around and reach for their weapons, except Fate, who calmly turns to face there host.

"Greetings, Clockwork. _May the eternal Hand of Time keep you in It's favor."_

" _And may the Ancient Ones smile on our meeting._ _Greetings to you as well, Fate, and thank you. It has been some time since I have heard, more so_ _ **used**_ _, the_ _Olde Greetings._ _"_ The ghost comes into the light, revealing himself to be a middle aged adult dressed in a tunic with a glass case in his chest where a clock and pendulum are displayed, and a darker purple hooded cloak. Before their eyes, he de-ages to a five-year-old, then re-ages to a frail old man with a waist length beard, and de-ages again back into the form of a middle aged man. _"And greetings to you all, Batman, Robin, Madeline, Jackson, Orion, and Keven. I am Clockwork, the Master of Time. And before you ask, I know your names because I know everything."_

"Including why we are here." Fate sounds tiredly amused.

" _Well, yes, of course,"_ Clockwork smirks wickedly. _"But it is better to ask then to simply receive."_

"Of course." Fate heaves a put upon sigh. "We seek the Phantom of Amity Park. Will you tell us his location?"

" _I will not."_

That answer caused a cacophony...

"What?!"

"- can't not tell us, you -"

"- Sector 10, Dash 4, Paragraph 2 states -"

"-ter coming all this way, ghost scu-"

"But why?"

...until Batman raises his hand.

"Why," the Dark Knight demands harshly.

" _For one,"_ the ghost turns from them to study one of the mirrors, _"Phantom is my charge. Much in the same way you humans foster children not your own, have I taken the Ghost Child under my protection. And I know that some here - "_ he glares out of the corner of his eye atthe GiW agents _" - wish him harm. For the second, you have already found him. Or, more specifically,"_ he disappears suddenly, only for Robin to stiffen at the cold hands now resting on his shoulders, _"your young sidekicks – forgive me,_ _ **partners**_ _have."_ He leans over Robin's right shoulder and the teen finds himself meeting a glowing ruby red gaze (one of his eyes is scarred, Robin notes vaguely) as the Master of Time's breathe (?!) caresses his ear. _"He has improved greatly with his teleportation and overall control, has he not. After all, it takes great strength to transport an object without touching it, and awe-inspiring control to super-charge ectoplasm and force it into a shape, much more so a moving shape such as a dragon, and even more to empower it with his Ice Core. Truly impressive, would you not_ _agree?"_

All throughout his whispered speech, Robin's eyes had widen. Clockwork – he-he meant... Oh wow. How had none of them figured it out?...

Robin peripherally noticed that the ghost had moved back to his screens and was watching the Boy Wonder with a small smile. Suddenly, Robin realizes that it is far to quiet in the room and turns to see everyone – from Batman to the Fentons – frozen in place. He whirls back the ghost.

" _Such a request as yours would come best from a known hero near his own age, don't you think?"_

"I-uh, yeah."

" _Then_ _TIME IN!"_

Everyone unfreezes, all but the Doctor* reaching for their weapons before seeing that Robin was alone.

And he was. Clockwork had vanished into the depths of his tower after restarting time.

"Robin," Batman growls as he stands from the crouch he had taken. "Status report."

"I'm fine." Robin can't stop the grin from forming as he lets out his signature cackle. "I'm better then fine. I know where he is! Come on!"

~! #$%^&*()_+

It takes three hours to get to the Fenton's portal. Once there, Robin leaves everyone in the dust as he sends the signal for Bat-Jet. Not even Batman is fast enough to stop him from grappling up to the cockpit and entering the co-ordinates for the monastery that the Team had found themselves in two months, two weeks, and three days ago.

The ride goes by quickly and Robin soon finds himself running through the feudal era based village, lit by torches and what little sun is left at twilight.

He stops in front of the middle building, where the man he remembers as the Elder is sitting talking to a black haired teen. They both turn to Robin (who notes the boy looks more American then Japanese) with questioning expressions.

The Fledgling quickly bows. _"Forgive me for disturbing you at this time, respected Elder, but I must speak with your protector. It is of utmost importance."_

" _Yes, of course."_ The Elder stands with the help of his adolescent companion, _" I am sorry, Dan_ _ï-kun*, we will have to continue this conversation another time."_ The other teen, Danï, gives a small bow before walking off. _"Come, young hero, this way."_

The Elder leads Robin through the main building and out to the back where there is another long set of stairs to halt at the base.

" _At the end of this staircase is the Dragon's shrine. When you reach the top, before entering, announce yourself loudly and clearly and request entrance. If there is no reaction from inside, you may continue. If he does not wish to speak with you, well,"_ he lets out a raspy chuckle, _"you will know."_ With that, the Elder heads back down the path.

" _Arigatō gozaimashita*!"_ Robin calls after him.

He had to hurry. The League, the GiW, and the Fentons could arrive at any time!

Within minutes the Boy Wonder is gazing up at the shrine. It's the size of a large hut, red with gold edging, and has little dragon statues guarding it.

He stops about three yards – give or take a foot or two – away and takes a deep breathe.

" _Dragon-sama*, I am Robin, the apprentice to the feared Dark Knight of Gotham, the Batman, and I have come to request on audience on the suggestion of Clockwork, the Master of Time. Please grant me this, Dragon-sama!"_

It feels like an eternity as he waits for any sign of movement inside. When none comes, Robin cautiously pokes his head in.

Despite there being no evidence of it outside, the inside is back-lit by torches and small braziers of radioactive green fire, highlighting the black clad figure sitting criss-cross about three inches of the ground, his white aura fluttering gently around him.

He tilts his head up so that his hat stops hiding his face. Except for the fact his green eyes are more embers compared to the burning furnaces they were last time, he looks pretty much the same. _"Why did my Guardian send you here, Robin of the Justice League?"_

Robin stepped forward, then copied Phantom's sitting pose, a little startled at the English he uses – though, the Fledgling acknowledges he shouldn't be. After all, Phantom had been living (er, existing?) in America before this.

"We need your help, Phantom." He straightens at the name. "The ghosts you fought have trampled over the Amity's border and have been running the League into the ground. We need you."

The Ghost boy turns his head, shadowing his eyes again.

" _I can't."_

Robin leans forward, trying to catch his eye. "But why?"

He takes a shuddering breathe (Seriously?! What is it with ghosts breathing?!) and lets it out in a sigh. _"The Guys in White... discovered, something about me. No matter how much I wanted to, no matter that Amity Park was –_ **is** _– my Haunt, it isn't safe for me, much less anyone else, for me to be there."_

"The League can offer you protection, and if they won't, or can't, the Team will."

A single green eye peeks at him.

" _Team?"_

Robin smiles. Now he was getting somewhere.

"Yeah. It's basically a covert ops team made up of Justice League partners and apprentices under the age of eighteen."

Phantom faces him in surprise. _"You would go against your mentors for someone you've only met once?!"_

A slight cackle escapes his mouth. " Dude, the Team was formed because we disobeyed a direct order and the adults took the 'we-can-only-prepare-them' approach."

" _Wow."_

"Yeah."

" _..."_

"..."

" _I want to, I really do."_ Phantom looks away again, this timebehind Robin and out the cracked door. _"But I can't just leave these people. They've taken such good care of me. I've never met anyone so excepting of the supernatural. Most have a tendency to shoot first ask questions after they're on the dissection table."_ A – slightly bitter – laugh softens the blow of those words. _"Anyway, I do want to go with you. H-how would you handle this?"_

Robin taps a finger to his chin. "You can teleport, right?" At the affirmative, he continues. "I would give them a way to contact me, then whenever they need me, teleport over and kick butt. We can talk it over with Batman. They've probably caught up with me by now." He rubs his neck in embarrassment. "I kinda ran off when we got back from the Ghost Zone. Clockwork told me to talk to you by myself, so, yeah." He shrugs.

" _Heh, yeah, the old stopwatch can be hard to resist."_ The ghost teen stands, feet actually on the ground, and offers Robin a cold hand up, which he accepts. _"Come on, let's go meet your mentor."_

They walk out of the shrine together, side by side, and down the flight of stairs. When they get closer, they pick up the sound of yelling.

Phantom sighs. _"The Fentons sure have good sets of lungs, don't they?"_

Robin cackles quietly. "Yep!"

They pick up the pace, reaching the monastery and heading through the main building to find those who were on the expedition – plus a few extra GiW agents – trying to convince the Elder and four spear wielding younger men to let them pass.

Robin cackles again, this time much louder, to get their attention.

"ROBIN!" The League females shout together.

"GHOST!" The ghost hunters shout instead.

The Boy Wonder ignores them and continues to laugh. "You guys are a bit late. Phantom and I have already come to an agreement. He'll come back to Amity in exchange for a pair of communication devices so the village here can call him if they need his help, and protection..." pause for dramatic effect "from the Guys in White."

The reaction is immediate.

The agents are once again shouting procedures and policies and rules and regulations while the Fentons just seem to be yelling random stuff to hear their own voices. Meanwhile, Batman looks thoughtful (not that anyone but Robin can tell) as do the rest of the heroes present.

"Very well," the deep gravel of the Bat's voice breaks through the ruckus, "agreed." The hunters turn to him in shock. "We will get you communicators both for between you and the village and for you to call the Justice League. We will negotiate the details later in private. For now, your town needs you." Phantom bows his head in ascent. "Then we will return to our transports. You have thirty minutes to get your affairs in order.

"Robin."

The human teen jumps off the wooden steps before turning and flashing the Ghost Kid a peace sign. "See you once I'm no longer grounded, dude."

Phantom smiles. _"See you."_

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

Three weeks later, Robin is finally off the bench and catching up on some quality time with the Team in the Cave.

According to the National News that's playing on the TV, the Phantom of Amity Park had returned, stopping ghosts and protecting his Haunt from any trouble that might come.

"I'm really glad he's back," M'gann says as she places a plate of cookies on the counter.

 _Floosh!_

Suddenly, Wally's there, stuffing the sweets in his mouth. "Me foo," he says, then swallows his mouthful. "Now that we don't have to wake in the middle of the night for a ghost attack, I can finally get some sleep!"

As he's about to eat the next one, Artemis snatches it from his hand, ignoring his indignant "Hey!".

"Save some for the rest of us, Kid Mouth. And be nice. Everyone needs a break, even centuries old ghosts."

The TV abruptly shuts off as the pda system crackles.

 _"Team,"_ Batman's voice comes through, _"report to the briefing room."_

The teens exchange looks,then run to the main cave to line up before the Dark Knight.

"Team," he says, motioning next to him where a familiar black clad form fades into sight. "Meet Phantom, your new teammate."

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

 **(AN)**

 **FILL FREE TO SKIP, BUT IMPORTANT EXPLANATION / HEADCANNONS BELOW!**

 **First things first, thank you all so much. I loved reading all your comments.**

 **Going Ghost: I'm sorry. I have no idea what you mean by samurai Jack. Do you mean Jack as in Danny's dad, Jack as in Jack Frost from RotG, or Jack as in Jack Long from AD:JL? Please specify which fandom.**

 **good: thank you for spotting that. It was one of five mistakes that my "Editors" pointed out after reading it online. It will be fixed as soon as my head stops spinning from the website's instructions.**

 **Speaking my "Editors", a _BIG_ shout out and hug thank you for proof reading this chapter for me!**

 **Headcannon time.**

 **The Ghost speak headcannon floating around played a part in this story, just with my own spin on it. Instead of people not being able to understand ghostly language, this time it's all about belief. In the first half, Robin and Ra's could understand Danny because they believed Danny was speaking Japanese while the rest of the Team couldn't for the same reason. Here in part two, everyone could understand because they believed Clockwork was speaking English. It can be learned by non-ghosts (IE Doctor Fate) but it takes a lot of work and having a natural affinity for the supernatural already.**

 **Timeline wise this takes place right after season 1 for Young Justice and after DP's entire run minus PP, which never happened.**

 **Also, if I get enough reviews of people interested in it, I'll turn this into a drabble series for this universe. You'll have to give me ideas and make requests, though, cause I'm not sure how to continue.**

 *** Doctor Who reference for the win!**

 ***Danï is the Japanese pronunciation of Danny according to Google Translate. -Kun is used to address men younger or the same as the speaker.**

 ***Arigatō gozaimashita – Thank you in Japanese, again Google Translate.**

 ***-Sama a more respective version of -san, which basically means Mr., Mrs., or Miss. (I don't know if you can tell, but I've been reading a lot of Manga and watching anime lately.)**

 **Again, thank all so much for reading and giving me feedback! I'm really glad you enjoyed!**


	3. Chapter 3

Intermission 1: Carnival Day

 _"Recognized : Phantom B10"_

Danny silently glided over the floor of the main cave. He's... kinda nervous. He wasn't sure how the Team would react to his request. He was new, after all.

Barely a week as a member of an elite group of super teenagers, and he was about to extend an invite to his Haunt. To _hang out._ He... just... ugh! What if they said no? What if, when they got there, they hated it? If they hated it, they might decide to kick him off the Team and then he'd really be up a creek because the Guys in White -

 _Okay, Danny, calm down. Getting yourself worked up is not a good idea._ _Just, go in there and ask. Your one of them now, no matter the time. They won't turn you away._

With a deep breathe he didn't need in this form, Danny entered the living room area of the Cave.

He's a bit disappointed, yet relieved, to find that there are only four present. Robin and Kid Flash, who had introduced himself as Wally West, were playing Mario Karts. Mean while, Miss Martian, who had introduced herself as Megan, and Artemis were in the kitchen - they seemed to be having some kind of girl talk.

Danny stands awkwardly in the doorway, not really sure how to approach the more experienced teen heroes. Honestly, he had been surprised when Batman had offered him a place with the League sidekicks only a week after his return to Amity Park. He hadn't been able to make a decision at first, even with Sam and Tucker's support. The memory of Robin had been the main deciding factor, though. The Boy Wonder had been so _kind_ to him, even though he was in ghost form, and hadn't been afraid of him, despite their first encounter.

So, Danny had joined. And here he was now, unsure how to start a conversation and extend his invite to them.

Thankfully, he didn't have to.

At that moment, Robin and Wally finished their race, with the Boy Wonder as the winner. When he stopped cheering, Robin turns to look at Danny, pouncing over to him.

"Hey, Phantom! It's good to see you. Want to join us for the next round? Wait, you do know how to play video games, right? I mean, it's okay if you don't, cause you're, like, centuries old, but we don't mind teaching you."

Danny can't help but laugh. Why was he so nervous again? Superheroes or not, they were teenagers, just like him. _"I do know how to play video games, actually. And I'm not centuries old. Believe it or not, I'm a modern ghost. Only about a year old. The Ghost Zone has portals all over the place, including into the past and the future. It can get a bit confusing. Especially when you're chasing someone."_

"Whoa." Robin looks at him in awe. "So the thing with you being the Dragon?..."

Danny rubs the back of his neck. _"A bit of misunderstanding while chasing a fruit-loop and the artifact he stole."_

"Oh."

An awkward silence descends upon them.

After a few moments, Megan floats over with a tray of cookies, Artemis following on foot, causing Wally to rush over and make a grab for it. The Martian (and how cool was that? He got to work with a Martian as a teammate!) quickly uses her telekinesis to keep the plate out of his reach.

"No, Wally. They're for Phantom." She suddenly shrinks into herself, staring at Danny wide-eyed. "I mean, if want them. Wait, can you even eat them? Hello Megan! Of course he can't, he's a ghost. I'm sorry, Phantom, I didn't - "

Danny moves forward, cutting Megan off before she can get herself to worked up. _"It's alright. Really. I can eat, it's just not a necessity, anymore. As long as they're not moving around on their own, I'd love to try your cookies."_ Not technically true, or more like the full truth, since Danny _did_ need to eat, just not as much as a normal human as long as he had a steady flow of ectoplasm, but he really didn't want to reveal his Halfa status to the Team if he could help it. Not yet, at least.

The cookies are delicious, all warm and buttery and chocolaty. Much better then the ones his mother makes (considering those tend to come alive and bite back, there isn't any competition) and Danny says as much.

Megan's cheeks gain a pinkish hue. "Thank you. I-I'm glad you like them."

Danny takes another bite and savors the favor as he gathers his confidence. He watches the others as they enjoy their on sweets. Time to ask. The worst they could do is to refuse, right?

" _I have to admit I didn't come today just to see you all."_ They all turn to him. Well, at least he had their attention. _"You see, there's a carnival in Amity and I was wondering if – uh, you would like to come?"_

The other teens exchange gazes, before smiling at him.

"Sure."

"Sounds like fun."

"Let me alert Bats where we're going."

"As long as there's cotton candy and corndogs involved."

" _ **Wally!"**_

"...What?"

 **(AN)**

 **And there you go. A little team-building chapter in cute, insecure Danny's point of view.**

 **So, yes, I am continuing. After a bit of thought, (and a review from Jewel moonstone that I found myself totally agreeing with – thanks Jewel moonstone!), I've decided that the story will have five "arcs" that will be 2 to 3 chapters long. In between each "arc", there will be 1 or 2 team-building/corny antics chapters. Problem is, I only have so many ideas, so if you have a request, I would appreciate hearing it.**

 **This story will be in either Danny's or Dick's point of view, so please keep that in mind.**

 **Thank you to everyone who explained the Samurai Jack thing. That really confused me.**

 **Oh my gosh! (Fan-girl squeal) Pandemi and NoSignalBlueSreen, your DP crossovers are among my favorites to reread, especially Puppet and Phantom Phables. Thank you _sooo much_ for reading!**

 **Guest : Thank you for correcting me. I wasn't quit sure how to spell his name, and for the advice about other languages. Everything has been fixed by the time this goes up.**

 **Going Ghost : Yes, he will be keeping the ninja outfit.**

 **Ghost : I like that idea. I'm not sure how I'll include it, but I'll certainly try.**

 **TheFishKing : It is Dick Grayson. This kind of AU is called Reversed Aged Robins. The Bat-bros are still all the same, it's just that Damian (or in this case, Terry from Batman Beyond) is the oldest and Dick is the youngest. It's actually pretty common, if you know where to look.**

 **Thank you all for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

Arc 2 : Questions of Royal Interest

"You are being sent to investigate the raise in ghost activity in Bialya."

Danny hovers in ghost form in front of Batman with the rest of the Team. This would be his first mission with them and he was kind of nervous. As the new guy, he would probably be the first to mess up.

"We don't have as much information as we would like -"

Danny knew that no plan survives first contact with the enemy, but he doesn't want to get kicked off the Team.

"- which is why you will be splitting into two teams."

He took a deep breathe. _You can do this, Danny. They're not going to kick you out just for a small mistake on your first mission. You're a ghost, for goodness' sake! You're meant for covert tasks._

"Team A will be helping the worst of the effected areas on the outside Bialya's borders. It well consist of Superboy, Aqualad, Rocket, Zatanna,and Kid Flash."

He supposed he should just be glad that Sam, Tuck, and Jazz were willing to put up with holding down the fort while he was gone. Again.

"Team B is to gather information from Queen Bee's palace. See if she knows anything. Team B will consist of Robin, Miss Martian, Artemis, and Phantom."

Danny turns attention back to the Dark Knight at the name of his alter ego. Right, still being being briefed. He really needs to focus.

"Get going."

Danny follows his teammates from the main cave into the hanger bay and up the ramp of Megan's – er, Miss Martian's, Bio-Ship. It's dark gray-blue inside, but for a bit of dark red at the ship controls and small stripes of glowing blue.

The seats form and Danny sits in the back, not really sure where else to go. He has to take Drako Kanalo*, his sword, from his back so he didn't end up sitting on it.

No one speaks during the journey, simply remaining silent in the tense atmosphere. Not like Danny could blame them. Though, he couldn't help but wonder if it always so high-strung before a mission. He hoped not. It was kinda unnerving.

As they fly over the border, Team A jumps out into the desert, already spotting some people in need of assistance. Team B, on the other hand, is left to continue onward.

It takes another half hour to reach their destination. When they do, the Bio-Ship flies them over the palace, allowing them to drop down on an unguarded part of the roof.

Danny follows after his teammates, helping to keep a lookout for the soldiers as they make their way through the corridors. They make it to a security room, (Danny's not sure what their called. Camera room? Guard room? Nap room where guards pretend to watch security cameras?) and Artemis knocks out the soldiers on duty with a gas arrow.

Robin immediately plugs in his glove computer and begins the hacking process.

Danny stands at the door, keeping watch.

After a few tense minutes, the Boy Wonder unplugs the wire and stands, nodding and motioning for them to follow him.

They do, Danny and Miss Martian in the air and Artemis on the ground, until they reach a indoor hanger, where they sneak onto the rafters for a better look.

The hanger is filled with boxes and planes of all types, and is dimly lit. Or, it would be, if it wasn't _crawling_ with ghosts.

Yes, ghosts of all kinds, blue-skinned, green-skinned, animal, humanoid, and everything in between, bustling about and loading cargo onto a helicopter with the help of human workers.

Danny can't help but to feel vaguely horrified at the sight of them all as his ghost sense goes off belatedly. What in the Ancients' name were they doing here?

" _Guys,"_ Danny whispers, _"what do we do?"_

Robin looks at him after a moment, brow furrowed. Suddenly, he turns to exchange wide-eyed looks with the girls.

Danny... thinks he's missing something. _"Guys?"_

Down below, the hanger door slides open loudly, drawing the teens' gazes to it, and those entering.

The first is a pretty brown skinned lady, with dark hair and gray eyes. Queen Bee, who looks just like the picture Danny had seen of her. But that's not who had his attention.

No, that would be her companion.

A blue-skinned ghost floats in behind her. He has black hair which defies gravity by curving upward in the shape of two horns, and is wearing white outfit with black and red trimmings, cape billowing from his shoulders. His eyes glow a pure, bloody red.

" _Plasmius."_ Danny hisses. What was the Fruitloop doing here?

"How much longer before the shipment is loaded?" Queen Bee calls out.

One of her men comes over with a clipboard and answers her. "At least another hour, Your Majesty."

She sneers at that. "And why is that?"

"The spooks are slowing us down."

"So what you are saying is -" she circles around to Plasmius' other side and loops her hand onto his elbow, causing Danny to sneer "- you can not work with the assistance our generous ally has provided us?"

"Well, uh, no, Your Majesty, of course not. We just -"

"Your Majesty!"

Another soldier comes running in. He stops in front of his queen and salutes.

"Get back to work." she tells the one with the clipboard, then turns to the goon that was still saluting. "Well?"

He lowers his hand. "My Queen, the Border Patrol has caught five of the Justice League Sidekicks."

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

 **(AN)**

 **And there we go. A little cliffhanger to keep you in suspense until next week.**

 **Ethan Demas : No, actually. Danny did not time travel again. It's the monastery from the first time around, the one we see in the series. Also, thank you for pointing that out. I was going to mention Sam, Tuck, and Jazz last chapter, but... Anyways, they're mentioned here, so it should be fine.**

 **Guest : That's answered in the second chapter. The GiW found out Danny's secret.**

 **kyuuo : (giggle quietly) We'll see.**

 **guest : Time line is mentioned in chapter 2's AN.**

 ***Drako Kanalo – Dragon Channel in Esperanto. I figured Danny would have a name for his sword, and it would probably be in Esperanto.**

 **Thank you, everyone who reviewed, and, of course, read my story. Please keep sending in suggestions, they've helped a lot.**

 **Oh, can anyone figure out what's wrong between the Team and Danny?**


	5. Chapter 5

Arc 2 pt 2: The Queen and the Vampire

"My Queen, the Border Patrol has caught five of the Justice League Sidekicks."

Robin clenches his fists. It wasn't supposed to be this way.

It was a simple mission. Get in, get information, get out.

But it was all going downhill like a cheetah on roller-blades. Blisteringly fast and completely out of control. Though, with the Team's luck, it probably should've been expected.

It had been going perfectly at first. With Robin leading them, they got in without trouble, and made it to the Control Room easily, where he had hacked into the system and found out about this hanger and the shipment of recently finished tech. From what he was able to discover, they were reproducing cloning technology, with some _slight_ differences that he couldn't figure out the purpose of. As a Team, they had decided to investigate deeper and maybe snag some of it for the League's labs.

That's when things started going wrong.

Phantom wasn't in the Mind-link. Megan couldn't even pick up his thoughts.

For a moment, they had all forgotten... Phantom was a ghost. He may have had a mind, but ghosts were _emotional_ creatures by nature, and unless you cleared the "static" that they caused around themselves simply by existing, there was no way to connect mentally with them.

Then it had gotten worse when Queen Bee herself had sauntered in, followed by a ghost Robin barely recognized as the Wisconsin Ghost from the profile picture Batman had caught of him.

A solitary being by nature, all they really had on him was that he _**did not**_ get along with Phantom – though the Ghost Boy himself wouldn't explain why beyond differing opinions. With that said, it was a wonder why he was teaming up with the Queen of Bialya.

(It couldn't be her mind-control like influence. Same problem between Phantom and Megan. It wouldn't reach him through his Emotional Field.)

And now, the third upset of the night's plan. Somehow, the rest of the Team had gotten captured, which means that the four of them on Team B would have to find a way to rescue their imprisoned friends, get a piece of the shipment's equipment, and hold off Queen Bee, her men, the Wisconsin Ghost, and the rest of the lesser spooks, all while not being able to communicate with Phantom properly without shouting out their movements to the world and messing up the group's rhythm.

Great. Just great.

Gazing down at the hostiles below, Robin knows they'll have their work cut out for them.

"Really, now?" Queen Bee stares at her soldier and releases the vampire-like ghost's arm (which was kind of gross, if you asked Robin, her holding the Wisconsin Ghost's arm like that) to walk closer to him. "Which ones?"

"The protegees' of Aquaman, Flash, and Icon, as well as Zatara's daughter, and Project Kr," he answers.

The queen hums quietly before giving her orders. "Increase the patrols. Tell them to keep their eyes out for the rest of those nuisances. Also, have them bring the prisoners to the palace and alert me when they arrive."

The man salutes again. "As you command, my Queen!"

The soldier leaves and the super-villainess turns back to the hanger as a whole, ordering the shipment to be loaded before the hour ends. She then leaves, dragging her strange arm candy with her.

Robin quickly signals his teammates to follow him, and leads them from the building to a relatively hidden spot behind it, away from cameras, where they can whisper clearly to each other so Phantom is included.

Once they're settled, Robin begin out loud.

"First things first. Phantom," he locks eyes with the ghost, "do you know how to control your Emotional Field?"

The teen spook blinks. _"My_ _what_ _?"_

"Well that answers that question." Artemis grumbles. "And why are we even talking about this? We should be trying to rescue the others!"

Robin takes a deep breathe as Miss Martian soothes the blonde girl. Shouldn't Phantom already know about this?

"Your Emotional Field." The Boy Wonder says. "It's the energy field that surrounds ghosts, created from emotions, both from the ghost in question and from the people around them – er, you. It's your food when you are not in the Zone. Well, that's what current studies are saying, at least."

" _Oh!"_ Phantom deflates slightly and looks relieved. _"You're talking about the whole Empathy Aura thing Clockwork's been helping me with."_ He rubs his neck sheepishly. _"I'm not the best at it but, yeah, I can control it. Why?"_

Robin smiles. That's one problem solved. "On missions, Miss M. links our minds together so we can talk to each other without the enemy overhearing . We didn't notice you weren't linked until you spoke in the hanger. Sorry."

Phantom returns it with one of his own. _" 'S okay. Just give me... one... sec."_

The buzzing feeling Robin had come to associate with Miss Martian's telepathy returns. For a moment, it's quiet. Then the green girl's "voice" comes through.

 _*Everybody online?*_

 _*Robin, online.*_

 _*Artemis, signing in.*_

 _*Phantom here. Kinda freaking out over the whole "in my head" thing.*_

Robin lets out a silent cackle. _*'Astrous ! Now we just need a plan.*_

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

The sky is clouded over tonight. A small glow, the only sign of the hidden moon, and an even shade of light stretching to the horizon is the reflection of the lamps below.

On the ground, soldiers scurry about like ants, patrolling (hey, if 'patrolling' is to keep watch over an area by regularly walking or traveling around it or through it, then how come 'trolling' has to do with starting arguments and/or fishing? Never mind.) and whatever else guards did.

Off in the distance, getting ever closer, was a convoy of headlights traveling over the desert sand.

Soon, the vehicles were driving through the palace gates and to a stop before the staircase entrance way where the Queen and her vampire ghost are waiting.

Robin stares down upon them from his hiding place on the roof, watching as more men exit the covered jeeps.

 _*Miss M.?*_

 _*Linking the others now.*_ A pause, then an inaudible click as they join. _*Is everyone alright?*_

 _*M'gann.*_ Aqualad sounds relieved as he answers. _*I am afraid only Superboy and I are the only ones who can move at the moment. The others are unconscious.*_

 _*No worries, dude.*_ Phantom says. _*We'll have you guys out in sec.*_

There's a silent sense of acknowledgment and the line goes quiet.

Robin stays in his spot as the soldiers pull out a scowling Superboy, then the two girls and Kid Flash, all three of whom lay limply in their captures arms, and finally the Atlantean, who looks a bit dehydrated, but fine.

Queen Bee and Plasmius (Phantom had told them his name) descend the stairs arm in arm, coming to a stop before Aqualad, who meets her gaze calmly.

"Tell me, little hero," the Queen lets go of the ghost's elbow to caress Aqualad's cheek. "Where is the rest of your Team."

Robin relaxes his body and steadies his breathe. Here we go. _*Now, Artemis!*_

An arrow streaks from the sky to strike the ground between Queen Bee and the Team leader, forcing the villainess to jump back from him, lest she get hit.

Don't you just love the Bio-ship's camo-mode? 'Astrous shot.

Robin leaps into action while the Bialyans are still frozen in shock, throwing one of his ghost proof exploding birdarangs (with a net hidden inside) at the vampire ghost hovering at the bottom of the steps.

Once he lands – after making sure the spook was trapped (he was) – the Boy Wonder charges the soldiers guarding his captive teammates. As he easily dispatches the men, he glimpses a see-through Phantom picking up the knocked out Team members and flying upward to the cloaked Bioship as the half Krytonian and the Atlantean join the battle.

 _*They're clear!*_ Artemis reports.

 _*Fall back, Team!*_ Robin calls.

Miss Martian swoops over to him. Robin raises an arm so she can carry him to the Bioship.

As they got to the ship, Artemis grabs his free arm to pull he and Megan out of the way so they don't get crushed when Superboy, carrying Aqualad, jumps into the entrance.

Over by the windshield, Phantom looses a growl. _"Plasmius is getting away with the helicopter of tech."_

"Get 'traught, Phantom." Robin smirks at him as he raises his hand held detonator. "Remember the plan?"

Phantom returns with a smirk of his own and nods.

Robin presses the detonator.

Off in the distance, the helicopter explodes with a big _BOOOM._

Aqualad walks forward to his seat. "Let's head home, Team."

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

"Good job, Team."

Robin can't help but to preen at his mentor's words. Hearing the Dark Knight so pleased (even if the Boy Wonder is the only one who can tell he's pleased) had always made him feel warm inside.

"The League will look over the new Cloning Technology and see if we can discover why it's different." Batman turns to leave, Black Canary, who had been standing off to the side, following after him.

The teens begin to disperse, starting with Phantom, who claims he needs to get back to his town, followed by Artemis, also needing to get home, Megan and Conner, who disappear farther into the Cave, and Wally, citing his aunt cooking dinner.

Robin turns to leave as well, looking forward to some of Alfred's chocolate chip cookies and a glass of milk, when Kaldur calls out to him.

Robin faces him. "Something wrong, Kaldur?"

The Atlantean puts one of his hands on the smaller teen's shoulder. "Nothing, my friend. I simply wanted to congratulate you on a mission well led. Soon, you will be able to lead this Team by yourself."

Robin swells at the praise. "Thanks, Kal. I'm looking forward to it."

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

 **(AN)**

 **Here you are, chapter five. A bit longer then the last. I have to admit I was disappointed that everyone guessed correctly, but I shouldn't be. I made it kinda obvious. (Smiles sheepishly) Oh well.**

 **Thank you all for reading, and to those who fav'ed, followed, and reviewed. And to those who left suggestions. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to ask you all to stop asking for Danny to learn to use new weapons/martial arts. He will be learning new moves once Black Canary gets her hands on him, but it would just get repetitive to keep adding and adding things in the Intermissions.**

 **What I will ask for is more ideas for little Team bonding moments. I would really appreciate it.**

 **Thank you all. Until next time.**

 **Same Bat-Time. Same Bat-Channel. Only on .**


	6. Chapter 6

**This Chapter is dedicated to Ghost and FariyFlare for their ideas.**

 **Thank you both.**

Intermission 2 : Knives and Ghosts and Ninjas, Oh My!

 _"Fail : Phantom."_

Danny groaned and slowly pushed himself to a sitting position. Today was a mandatory training day under the firm hands of Black Canary, who had been absolutely appalled by his self taught fighting style. After the day he'd had so far, it was excruciatingly painful icing on a humiliatingly disastrous cake.

It had started with waking up to find out his dad, the great Jack Fenton, had fiddled with his alarm clock – trying to make it run on ectoplasm – which had caused it to reset itself, meaning that it hadn't gone off, like, at all.

After a long night on a solo patrol (to make up the time his best friends and his sister had been covering for him) he hadn't woken up when he was supposed to, which meant he was a good half-hour late for school.

One detention slip (which was just a formality now, since he had proven he wouldn't attend those either, unless the teacher managed to tie him to his chair. Only Mr. Lancer had succeeded at that so far) later, and Danny headed off to his next glass.

Unfortunately, Dash Baxter, jerk-er, jock and school bully extraordinaire, had decided that he needed to take out his D- on his favorite punching bag – IE : Danny.

So, because Dash had used his free period to guard the locker Danny had been thrown in, to keep Sam and Tucker from rescuing him – and the Ghost Boy from using his powers to escape, not that the blonde knew that – the teen hero had missed another hour of classwork.

When he had finally been allowed out, Sam freeing him when the jock ran off, (Danny heard Sam, gorgeous, Gothic, steel-toed booted Sam, kick him. He didn't want to think about where, though.) and they were able to head to class.

Then his Ghost Sense went off.

Danny somehow caught the ghosts – a pair of ectopuses – within a few minutes, and had gone to class, only to spend the rest of the school day running around like a chicken with it's head cut off as his G-Sense went off every five, ten minutes. It was only weaker ghosts (animals mostly, with some appearances from the Box Ghost) but it was enough to keep him from getting any work done.

He went to the Zeta-tube that had been installed in Amity for his convenience as soon as the bell rung, only to be stopped every other block by more weak specters. When he had finally reached the 'tube, he was once again late.

Once materialized in the Cave, he had found the training session in full swing.

He hadn't been allowed to explain his tardiness. Instead, Black Canary had called on him to duel her, with the rule of no powers, and pound him into the ground in front of the other teen heroes in the name of training.

Danny knew the heroine wasn't trying to be mean, in fact, she was encouraging him and correcting his form and even expressed her pleasure at how fast he was picking things up, including the more difficult maneuvers she was using, but he was at his breaking point, and he didn't know how much longer he could keep this up before deciding it wasn't worth it and using his Ghostly Wail on everything, no matter that it still drained his Core.

Looking up at the blonde heroine, the smile she was giving him, and the helping hand she was offering him, Danny knew he wouldn't last like this. He had to get away, maybe blow something up, before he exploded.

Meeting her gaze, Danny spoke. _"I'm done."_

That encouraging smile melts away to be replaced by a small frown. "It's okay not to get things right the first time, Phantom. That's what practice is for. I know it can get tiring, but -"

Danny smacks away the hand that had still been held out to him and taps into his Core to float in a standing position. _"No! I'm not doing this anymore. Leave me alone!"_

He turns quickly, phasing through the walls until he reaches the ghost proof room that had been added after he joined the Team. When he had told some of the other teen heroes that he had never truly tested his limits, they had told some of the adults, who had made this room even sturdier and had added an obstacle course to help him.

He enters and, as soon as the door closed, Danny begins going through the course as fast as he can. What he really wants to do is shoot something, or better yet, use his Ghostly Wail to level something, but this will have to do until he can go somewhere private without having to worry about attacking someone in anger.

He flew through the course again and again and again, each time trying to beat his previous record and burn off the white hot energy he had gathered from his continuous anger and aggravation throughout the day.

It wasn't really working.

As he was preparing to fly through the series of obstacles again, a light knocking on the metal door catches his ear.

Danny turns just enough to spot the red, black, and yellow costume before returning his attention to the hoop ahead of him. _"What do you want? Tell me I shouldn't have blown up at Canary? That she was only trying to help and I'm being unreasonable? Kick me off the Team for verbally attacking a member of the J.L.?"_

"No, actually," Robin answers, causing Danny to whirl around to face him. He had honestly thought that he wouldn't be welcomed among them anymore, for this stunt. "We'll come back to the kicking you off the Team thing later. I just figured you could use a more 'whelming way to blow off steam, since we don't have any targets in here yet." He walks over and holds out his gloved hand to show the Ghost Boy what he's holding. "So, I brought you something."

Danny looks down at the thing in the other teen's grasp. It's a small knife, with a black painted wooden handle and an equally dark leather grip, a slightly curved hand guard, and a gleaming steal blade. It's not even six inches long all together.

The Halfa picks it up to get a closer look while the Boy Wonder continues to speak.

"It's a throwing knife. Well, a practice one at any rate. I figured that you could use a new past time that doesn't involve explosions. As cool as they can be, they take a while to clean up. And if you ever run out, you can just make more with your ice. Plus, it runs with the whole ninja thing you've got going on."

Danny gives a small smile and looks at the blank white lenses of Robin's mask. _"I-um, I think I'd like that."_

Robin's returning smile is blinding. "Great!" he chirps. "Training's done for the day, so we should be alone if you want to go try it out now."

Danny tightens his grip on the small weapon in hand. He's not used to such short a length, considering he only really has any experience with swords (Fright Knight's Soul Shredder, practice swords in the Far Frozen under Frostbite's teaching, and his own Drako Kanalo to name a few) but he can already feel himself getting comfortable with the slight weight the tiny knife holds.

Maybe it really will help calm his nerves a bit.

He follows Robin out of the room and down a few halls to the training room, which, as he said, was empty.

The Boy Wonder immediately walks to the holo-screen and types in some sequences as Danny floats to the center of the platform. The computer makes a beeping sound and a blue holographic target appears.

Robin comes over to Danny. "Okay! We'll start with the basics. First, don't hold it so tightly. Your grip – " he grabs the Halfa's hand and positions his fingers " – needs to be like this. We'll start with an over hand throw. Like this." He takes another blade from his belt and goes through the form slowly, allowing Danny to track his movements, before going through them a second time, faster, this time actually throwing it and hitting just off to the right of the bullseye.

The Boy Wonder frowns at it, then continues with a blinding smile. "As you can see, you can't expect to be perfect all the time, especially on your first try." He moves behind Danny, who turns slightly, watching him. The human teen motions to the target. "Fire when ready."

The Ghost Boy turns, fixes his grip on the knife (which he had subconsciously changed during Robin's demonstration), pulls his arm back, does his best to take aim (it's nothing like his ectoplasts), and throws. He watches, a bit disappointed as it misses the target entirely, hits the wall sideways, and clatters to the ground.

Behind him, Robin cackles.

Danny spins around to glare at him.

The other teen raises his hands in a placating jouster. "No, no, Phantom. It's not you. That just reminded me of the time a close friend of mine was first learning to throw a batarang. You're really lucky. When he* threw it, he missed the target and hit the wall, only it didn't just fall to the ground. It hit a giant penny that Bats keeps in his little trophy corner and started a whole chain reaction that destroyed the entire main platform of the Bat-Cave!" He laughs harder. "It was 'astrous!"

Danny laughs, too. It does sound pretty hilarious, and it makes him feel better about his own miss. And his whole day, actually. He really needed this. The chance to relax with other teens who _understand_. To be able to let down his guard and just be himself, even if he hadn't told them his secret identity yet.

Once they get a hold of themselves, Robin offers him another blinding smile. "Ready to try again?"

Danny nods.

" 'Astrous!"

Danny loses track of time as he practices, Robin sometimes giving pointers. He doesn't hit the target much, but it's still nice, spending hours on end with the great Robin, protegee of the Batman himself, and being able to see that he – and all the other Justice League partners – is just a normal kid. Maybe, Danny really _could_ find a place among these heroes.

Finally, they stop for a break. Danny, panting, really wants to get something to drink, but he also doesn't quite trust any of the heroes with his secret yet, so he decides to just grin and bear it.

Suddenly, a chill fills his lungs and runs up his spine from his Core, coming out his mouth in a small cloud of mist.

His Ghost Sense? What in the multiverse is a ghost doing here?

" _Robin,"_ he calls quietly, _"where's the rest of the Team?"_

Robin goes from cheerful teenager to serious vigilante within half a second. "They should be in the common room. Why?"

" _We have company. C'mon."_

Danny quickly flies to the common room, Robin running after him. As they rush through the Cave, Danny can already tell they're too late as the air takes on a dark blue hue, symbolizing the spectral intruder was projecting their aura into the atmosphere around them so they could both feed on the emotions around them better, and to intimidate any incoming opponents.

(Hey, just because he had trouble in school didn't mean he was going to skip out on Clockwork's lessons.)

They come to a halt just within the room.

They really are too late.

The room is a mess, littered with burn marks, destroyed furniture, and glowing green ectoplasmic goo.

"Yep, definitely a ghost." Robin states.

"Gee," a familiar female voice says sarcastically, causing the two boys to spin toward their left, where they find Artemis trapped in a large splash of goo, stuck to the wall. "We couldn't tell as he was shouting about being the Ghost Zone's greatest hunter."

Danny flies over and starts burning away the sticky substance. _"Let me guess,"_ he says dryly. _"Big gray metal suit with bunch of tech and a flaming green Mohawk on his head."_

"Yeah," she answers then nods to the left. "Think you can check on Z and Rocket, Boy Wonder?" Once Robin's gone to them, Artemis continues. "He took Conner, Megan, and Kaldur with him. Don't know if he would've taken Wally if he was here, but..." she shrugs.

Danny finishes releasing her and they head to where Robin's dragged Zatanna and Rocket, both unconscious and looking a bit worse for wear.

"We need to rescue the others." Robin says.

"I'll stay here and take care of these two," Artemis motions to the other girls as she speaks. "You guys go."

The boys both nod, and after the archer tells them which wall Skulker went through, start searching. Danny gives Robin a brief information dump their foe as they do.

It takes half-an-hour to find them in the Cave's hanger bay.

Skulker floats in the center, facing them, by the Bio-ship. Behind him, in a levitating cage, are their missing teammates, none of whom seem to be awake.

" _Hello, Ghost Child."_ Skulker says, smirking. _"I've been waiting for you."_

Danny reaches over his shoulder, where Drako Kanalo invisibly rests on his back, and grasps it's handle as he takes a ready stance. _"Skulker,"_ he scowls. _"Let my friends go."_

" _No,"_ Skulker says maliciously. _"I don't think I will. They are just as unique as you are, and while they may not be ghosts, they are still worth the hunt."_

"We won't let you keep them," Robin says firmly.

" _You don't have a choice."_ The hunter raises his arm, which transforms into a net gun, and fires at the two teens.

The young heroes dodge in separate directions, Robin to the left and Danny to the right, and begin avoiding the nets, ectoplasts, and missiles that the ghost is firing at them.

Halfway around the room, they both run toward the hunter. As they're about to strike, Skulker activates his jet-pack and soars upward, causing the two to knock their heads together.

For a moment, Danny sees stars. He forces himself up and looks around, finding the Boy Wonder still on the ground in front of him. Danny reaches out to grab his shoulder. _"Robin?"_ He gives him a little shake.

 _Nope, definitely out. Great,_ Danny thinks _._

Above them, Skulker laughs, obviously entertained by the accidental collision.

Danny places his hand on the floor beside him, expecting Drako Kanalo – which he had drawn after Skulker's first shot – to be there. It's not.

Slightly panicked, Danny quickly looks around again, this time for his sword. He can't find it.

He wasn't sure what to do. He was certain that Skulker had found someway to counter act all his old attacks. That's why he had taken to using his sword against all his enemies recently. Now, he didn't have a clue.

He looks back down at Robin. He couldn't lose this fight. If he did...

Skulker speaking brings his attention up to the ghost in question.

" _I shall finally have your pelt at the foot of my bed, whelp."_

Danny stands. _"That's still gross."_

The hunter just raises his hand in front of his chest and makes one of his machetes pop out. _"We'll see about that."_

Danny stares at the weapon. Robin said... if he could get the head off... that could actually work! He just needed Skulker to get closer, cause he would only have one shot at this and he _did not_ want to miss.

" _You couldn't catch a snail even with that metal suit of yours, you have no chance of ever catching me. Here, I'll prove it. I'll stand here, and you try and cut me with your knife. You won't be able to touch me."_

Skulker growls, _"You'll pay for that, whelp!"_ and charges.

Danny quickly pulls on his Core and forms a knife-like shard of Ghost Ice in his hand.

When the ghostly hunter is almost within reach, the Halfa brings his Hand forward and throws.

The shard lodges itself in the throat and Danny wills it to extend horizontally so it severs the head from the body.

Danny sighs in relief as it drops. He moves to the mechanical head, and pulls the real Skulker – a tiny, barely three inch tall green blob of ectoplasm with arms and legs – out, then pulls his Fenton thermos out to suck in both Skulker and his suit.

Just as he puts the Thermos' cap back on, a small crowd of J.L. heroes stalks in, led by Batman.

"Phantom." The Dark Knight barks. "Report."

Danny holds up the Thermos and gives it a little shake. _"All taken care of, sir."_

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

 **And there's chapter six.**

 **Once again, this chapter is dedicated to Ghost and FariyFlare. Thank you both so much. This chapter would not have been like this without your ideas.**

 **To everyone, please send in your own. I can't guarantee I'll include it, but I'd still like to hear them.**

 **Guest : Thank you for pointing that out. I'll make sure if I do another Y.J. Story, I'll do that, but I'd rather keep her powers the way they are. Thank you again, so much! :)**

 ***I actually imagine Jason doing this on his first time and being banned from practicing alone by Bats with the rest of the Clan dying of laughter in the background of the smoking ruins of the Bat-Cave.**

 **Please leave a review, follow, and favorite and I'll see you all next week.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Dedicated to Going ghost for their idea.**

Intermission 3 : Summer Slumber Party

 _ **SSSCCRREEEEE!**_

 _ **ZZOOOOOOMM!**_

 _"WINNER!"_

" _Yes!"_ Phantom shouts as he pumps his fist in victory and points the hand still holding his controller at a gaping Wally. _"I told you I would still beat you without Overshadowing the game!"_

The Speedster gets over his shock quickly. "Dude! You-you must have distracted me somehow!"

" _How? You said no powers, so I didn't use any."_

Robin doesn't bother to hide his laughter as Wally sputters. He's really glad Bruce let him come.

It was the first Monday of Summer vacation, so the Team, under M'gann's insistence, had planned a sleepover.

Robin knew the real reason she had insisted for tonight. A channel that focused on playing the older TV shows was marathoning _Hello, Megan_ and the Martian wanted to share it with the rest of them.

Anyway, the whole Team was here, with the girls in the kitchen area, giggling and whispering to each other, while the guys were sitting on the couches and playing video games.

As soon as they sat down to play, Phantom had proven his claim as a modern ghost by actually slipping into the screen and absolutely _annihilating_ everyone else when he used his powers while inside. Well, not everyone. Robin had managed to hold his own, but that was because he had hacked the game. Even then, Robin still lost to the ghost. He was unbeatable.

Wally, tired of losing, had made a no-powers rule and challenged Phantom to a one-on-one race.

Which led them here, with the red headed Speedster sputtering at his lose and Phantom once again proving himself to be more than the ghost he seems.

"You can't be serious!" Wally finally finds his voice again. "You couldn't have beat me! Robin's the only one who can do that anymore!"

Robin can't help but to release another of his signature cackles. "Sorry, K.F., but Phantom won fair and square."

Off to the side, where he had been sitting and paying more attention to the girls, Conner scuffs. "Sore loser, much."

Wally starts sputtering again. "H-hey! I-I'm not a sore loser!"

"Couldn't tell." Conner says, and turns towards the kitchen as the girls come out, carrying large bowls almost overflowing with popcorn and equally large bottles of soda.

"I'm so excited, it's almost time!" M'gann quickly flies over to her boyfriend and gives the half Kryptonian a peck on the cheek as she sits next to him. "Quick! Put it on, before they start!"

"Put what on before what starts?" Wally asks as Artemis sits beside him and grabs the remote.

"Oh, hello, Megan," the Martian facepalms, "you forgot to tell them. There's a marathon for the entire series of _Hello, Megan_ tonight and tomorrow. It's why I wanted to have a sleepover."

" _Wait,"_ Phantom says, looking utterly confused. _"I thought 'Hello Megan' was just something you said. You mean it's actually some kind of TV show?"_

"I gotta agree with spooky over there," Rocket speaks up from her newly claimed seat next to Kaldur, who had been watching everything unfold in amused silence. "I've never heard of it."

Zatanna, sat between Phantom and Robin himself, nods.

M'gann blushes, adding a pretty pink color to her green skin. "Well, um, yes. It's an older show, aired 1979-1980 in your years. I loved watching it on Mars, but I wanted to watch it on Earth, cause that's it's home planet." She looks at them uncertainly. "Is that okay?"

The three immediately reassure her that it is and everyone turns their eyes to the screen as the theme music begins to play – Artemis had changed it while no one was paying attention.

Suddenly, the screen turns to static, and the speakers emit a loud droning sound.

For a moment, the teens stare in shock.

"Artemis!" M'gann, looking like she might start crying, turns to the archer, whose looking at the remote in confusion.

"It wasn't me M'gann, I swear!" she says, and points the device at the TV. Robin can barely hear her clicking the buttons over the static noise. "It's... not... working... arhg! Robin, you're the tech expert, you do it!"

She tosses the black rectangle to him, but before he can do more then glance at it, the static clears up on it's own.

The problem? It's not on _Hello Megan_ anymore.

On the screen, is a green face with eyes covered by black sun glasses and a mouth of white teeth.

It laughs, and launches itself into what Robin immediately recognizes as a typical long-winded villain speech.

 _"I am Technus, Master of all things mechanical and electrical! Now that I have control of this satellite, I can control what everyone watches, and all of you will do what I say! Mwahahahahaha!"_

As the face, Technus, continues to laugh, Robin hears a groan from his left. He turns to look around Zatanna to see Phantom with his head in his hands.

"Do you know this ghost, Phantom?" Kaldur asks, standing.

The Ghost Boy sighs in frustration. _"Yeah, I do. He's one of the reoccurring villains I have. Attacks every other month or so. I'm not sure_ **why** _he's in the satellite, though. I've already kicked him out of one."_

The Atlantean nods. "This time, you will have help."

Phantom smiles, standing as well. _"What are we waiting for? Let's go!"_

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

The following space battle is easily won with Phantom and the Bioship distracting Technus long enough for Robin, in a space suit provided by M'gann, to sneak to the satellite and hack it. They return to the Cave, victorious, and immediately get back to their sleepover – even if they did miss three episodes of _Hello Megan_.

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

Robin wakes in an instant, even though he doesn't remember going to sleep. He keeps himself still, trying to figure out what woke him.

" _Alright. I'll be right there."_

Phantom? What was he doing up? Wait, stupid question. But who was he talking to?

" _Yeah, bye."_

Thankful for his mask, Robin watches as the ghost flies to the entry way, then pauses just before he goes through, watching everyone sleep.

He sighs. _"Sorry, guys."_ And with that, he's gone.

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

 **(AN)**

 **Dedicated to Going ghost for their idea. Thanks so much!**

 **This was supposed to be the start of the next Arc, but then I read Going ghost's post. It got my creative juices flowing and I couldn't resist. Sorry if it's not quite what you thought, Going ghost.**

 **Anyways, thank you all for reading, and don't be afraid to send in more requests. They really do give me inspiration.**

 **TheFishKing : Uh, hello, Megan! Why didn't I think of that?! That is just – whoa. That will definitely be included. Just not yet, since the next Arc will be starting and I do have a general timeline going. Thank you so much!**

 **Ghost : You're welcome. I have no doubt about Danny losing, because while he does have experience fighting without powers, Batman does it because he has to. I would like to include the J.L. doing that, but I'm not sure how. We'll see how things go. Drako Kanalo's definition is in chapter four. Thank you!**

 **Going ghost : Now you know. As for next chapter... Hahahahaha, I have Plans.**


	8. Chapter 8

Arc 3 : Avengers Assemble!

 _*Phantom, go intangible!*_

 _*Thanks, Artemis!*_

 _"Avengers, they're communicating in-verbally somehow! Like-like some kind of hive mind!"_

Robin, hearing the words of the Red Tornado-like robot that he's fighting, sends the news over the Mind-link. _*Guys, the robot's finally figuring us out! Make sure they don't get Miss M.!*_

 _*Do not make it obvious!*_ Aqualad shouts, using his water bearers to strike at the armor-wearing blonde with a war hammer. _*They will target her specifically!*_

 _*I'm already protecting her!*_ Superboy growls. _*Are you saying I'm not enough?!*_

 _*Get 'traut, SB.*_ Robin cackles as he finally manages to get on the robot's back and complete the hacking process he began earlier, jumping off before he crashes with it. _*I'm just saying four hands are better then two.*_ He runs towards where the half-Kryptonian and the Martian are. _*Besides, you look you're having a hard time with big, green, and ugly.*_

 _*You guys **do** realize I can take care of myself, right?!*_ Miss M. punctuates her her words by telekinetically throwing a tree at the same creature her boyfriend is fighting.

 _*Well, yeah.*_

 _*I'm sorry, Megan. I wasn't trying to say that. I just...*_

 _*It's okay, Conner. I understand.*_

 _*Hey, if the lovers' spat is over – *_ Kid Flash breaks in. _*– I could really use some help with Miss Ninja Lady over here!*_

Robin snickers and changes course to the speedster and the red-headed assassin that reminds him quite a bit of his sister, Black Bat. _*You sure know how to pick them, don't you, KF? First Lady Shiva*, then Miss Martian, then Artemis, and now another assassin!*_

 _*Oh, shut up, Bird Brain!*_ Everyone can hear the flush that's taken over his cheeks.

 _*What's this I'm hearing?*_ Artemis says. _*Are you cheating on me, Baywatch?*_

Phantom quietly laughs across the 'link. _*Dude, this is awesome.*_

 _*I know, right?*_ Robin says. _*Duck, KF!*_ Robin uses his best friend's back as a spring board and launches himself at the assassin.

 _*Thanks, Rob.*_ The older teen charges her while she's distracted (not 'tracted, not 'tracted at all) by the Boy Wonder. _*And I'd never cheat on you, babe. You'd beat me to a pulp if I tried, and then you'd be sad you ruined this perfect face.*_

 _*Uh-huh, keep telling yourself that, West.*_

 _*What's that supposed to mean?!*_

 _*Everyone, please,*_ Aqualad says from where he's trying to drench a blonde man wielding a war hammer that spits out lightning every once in a while. _*Focus. We have to get away from these people and regroup. If we can't get back to our home dimension ...*_

Apologies fill the Mind-link, and the Team focus back on their opponents.

Robin and Kid Flash hang back for a moment, circling the assassin.

 _*So, got a plan, Boy Wonder?*_

 _*Not yet. We can't wear her down, she's definitely had a bunch of formal training, and taking her by surprise is a no go either. We would have gotten her with my joining you. But, she seems to be a regular human, so if we can overwhelm her...heavy on the "over"...*_

 _*Right.*_

 _ **THOOOOM!**_

The loud noise freezes the whole field for a moment, especially when it's followed by the faint sense of pain across the Mind-link.

Robin looks out of the corner of his eye to where Phantom had been fighting what appeared to be the strange adult's team magic user. The teens knew that ghosts were weak to magic, but they had been the only two left after everyone had paired up with an opponent, and Phantom had refused to switch with anyone.

"Phantom!" Miss M. shouts out loud even as she grabs her head and falters in the the air under the pressure of trying to keep the ghost's pain from filtering to the others.

 _*I-I'm okay, Megan. Just used another of his illusions to get behind me. Again.*_

With the reassurance, Robin returns his attention to the assassin and starts their fight anew.

In their minds, Phantom continues. _*I'm going to need to pull one of my bigger moves to beat him. In fact, it will be a great distraction. If you guys can get your own new friends in the same place, I can catch them all at once and teleport all of us somewhere else. It'll have to be close by, cause I can't go somewhere I haven't seen, but I can give us enough of a distance to get away.*_

 _*Do it.*_ Aqualad orders.

 _*Right, K.F., time to be your most annoying.*_ Robin can't help but to say.

 _*Dude, I was about to say the same thing to you!*_

Robin's honestly a bit surprised how easy it is to gather their opponents in one spot. Even the green rage monster is maneuvered into position.

The team jumps back and watches as Phantom's white aura flashes. He collects a large ball of green ectoplasm in his hands, then releases it. The energy immediately takes a familiar draconian shape, roaring as it circles the group of antagonists.

 _*Come close to me!*_ The ghost shouts.

The teens quickly reach him, and Robin feels a twisting sensation in his gut before the world dissolves into a swirl of color and the feeling of moving at great speed as the ground disappears from beneath his feet.

It only lasts for a moment as everything settles back around them, only now they're about three blocks away from the park they'd started at.

 _*We need to move quickly.*_ Aqualad says. _*Phantom, do you have the energy to phase us into the sewers?*_

 _*Not at the moment.*_

Robin looks at the dead teen. He's sweating a little, and while ghost don't need to breathe, he seems to be panting.

 _*I'm still maintaining the Ecto Dragon. I've never done it from so far away before, and with those people attacking it...*_

 _*Right.*_ The Atlantean says. _*We need to find –*_

 _*Uh, Kal, hate to interrupt,*_ Artemis says even as she goes against her own words, _*but there's a manhole right behind you.*_

It doesn't take long to find themselves running through the horrid smelling sludge underground, and Robin thinks back to what got them in this mess.

It had started out as a simple mission. They were charged with investigating a sudden influx of magical energy on some small farm in Ohio. They, the team minus Rocket, who had been doing her thing with Icon, had gone.

They had discovered Klarion the Witch Boy in an old barn, and had walked right into his trap.

He captured Zatanna first, using her as a battery for his spell. They were all knocked out in the casting of it.

When they woke up, they had found themselves minus one sorceress in training, and in a different dimension that was so far away from their own that it didn't even have a Justice League in it.

That was four days ago.

Ever since, the teens had been looking for a way home, and, not long afterward, on the run from this world's superhero team, the Avengers.

Robin, in between the fights and flights that followed, had managed to get a bit of research done. Unfortunately, all he'd had at the time for was their names.

Captain America, Iron Man, Hawkeye, the Hulk, Black Widow, Thor, and Loki.

This was their seventh confrontation with them.

Why don't they just turn themselves in, you ask?

Well, let's just say they got off to a bad start and leave it at that.

Anyway, now they were on the run yet again, with no idea where to go, and how to get home.

They continue through the sewers for a while, until they reach an outlet into a river. They settle down there and immediately set up watch, with Superboy facing inward to the underground maze, and Aqualad facing outward to the river, while everyone else tries to get some sleep.

(Hey, if "inward" is another way to say "in", "outward" another to say "out", "afterward" means "after", and "toward" another way to say "to", then why does "ward" mean to guard against?)

Robin, tired as he is, takes a few minutes to go to sleep. He wonders how his family is. They're probably going crazy looking for them. He hopes none of the others blame Batman for this, but he knows that they most likely will, especially his brothers, who have a tendency to blame Bruce for everything bad that happens, whether it's his fault or not.

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

The next day was filled with more sewage travel, hacking into an ATM for some money to buy food, M'gann shape-shifting into a nondescript person to actually _buy_ said food, and yet more sewage travel.

As the sun begin to set (which they can only see because they're at another outlet) on their five day here, they all know their luck avoiding this dimension's heroes is coming to an end. To prove it, Superboy stiffens.

"They're coming," he says

Aqualad nods as everyone stands. "M'gann, link us up."

The buzz of the Mind-link enters his head.

 _*Everyone online?*_ the Martian asks.

With the group's affirmative, they turn as one to confront the adult team they can see coming towards them across the river.

 _*Robin and Kid Flash, I want you both to handle the sorcerer. Phantom, I want you to take care of the robot and the female assassin. The rest of you are to stick with the pairings from last time.*_

They obey their leader, once the adults get close enough, charging those they had been assigned to.

Robin follows his best friend to the armored magic user, who's obviously a bit surprised by the change in opponents, but still levels his spear at them.

"You mortals do not stand a chance against me," he says.

Robin cackles and blends into the shadows as K.F. taunts him with some childish insults.

The Boy Wonder sneaks into a good hiding spot and waits for the man to be completely distracted with the Speedster, then drops down on him right as the sun sets.

 _ **BOOOMM!**_

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

 **(AN)**

 **And that's chapter eight with a little cliffhanger that you'll have to wait for next week to be resolved.**

 **Thank you all for reading. Don't be afraid to review and send me your ideas. It really makes my day.**

 **TheFishKing : Thank you for the ideas. I actually started planning the ball chapter right after your first suggestion, which will be with (Spoiler Alert), but I don't think there will be any chaperons. Lastly, have you been reading my notes? I could have sworn I didn't post them.**

 ***A n adventure before the show that probably will not be farther explained, like the prank mentioned in chapter one**

 **See y'all next week.**


	9. Chapter 9

**AUTHOR'S NOTE! PLEASE READ BEFORE CONTINUING!**

 **So I got a lot of reviews asking what was going on. It was explained last chapter, but since a good half dozen or so people asked, I'll repeat it here.**

 **Klarion the Witch Boy set a trap for the Team that catapulted our beloved**

 **heroes into the vast reaches of the multiverse. Their first stop was in the**

 **home of a team of heroes called the Avengers. After a bit of a misunderstanding, the do-gooders of the Young Justice (plus Phantom) find**

 **themselves on the run, resulting in many battles on their five day visit. In**

 **the last of these altercations, the teens suddenly find themselves spiraling**

 **yet again through the multiverse.**

Arc 3 pt 2 : Flames of the Dying Will

 _ **BOOOMM!**_

Robin's head spins as he tries to make sense of the sudden change in location. He had been about to land on that spear wielding sorcerer, and then he was here, all alone, in the middle of a war-torn street in what appeared to be somewhere in Italy.

It was havoc, with the buildings all around him in ruin, the vehicles all either crushed or flipped over, and fire _everywhere._ And he meant _everywhere._ Whether it was a small blaze (like the one in the pothole to his left) or a full-blown bonfire (like the one in the car halfway down the street) everything seemed to by on fire in some way or another.

What surprised Robin most was that there were no people around, not even firemen to try and put the street out.

It was just... deserted.

The sharp _ **rat-a-tat-tat**_ of gunfire split the air, close enough to be barely a block away.

Well, at least Robin had a target now. His teammates would probably make their way to the fight if they were nearby as well, so hopefully he could kill two birds with one stone and stop that battle that was ravaging this city and find his friends at the same time.

The teen hero sets out toward the sounds of the gun fight, running down the street while dodging what of the wreckage he can.

As he turns the corner, the building above him groans. Robin looks up just in time to see a large chunk of it falling towards him. He twists, planting his feet and jumping away from the downfall of concrete and shrapnel.

Not fast enough.

The wreckage lands on his (thankfully reinforced) boots and traps him in place, causing red-hot _pain_ to rip up his legs.

He slowly catches his breath and forces the pain into a box in his brain, just like he was taught to. Once he's able to think clearly again, he contorts himself the best he can to take a look at the damage.

He knows just by looking that he's stuck, and that if the concrete debris had landed any other way, he would have probably have had to amputate at least one of his legs. As it is, he will have a fractured leg at worst. Not that he can tell how bad it is at the moment, considering both of them _**hurt**_.

A shout in Italian (Italy, yep, called it) draws his attention forward, where a group of men, looking weary and worn in their torn up suits is heading towards him. Despite their beaten appearance, they're all wearing nasty grins, obviously liking the easy target the trapped Boy Wonder makes.

One of them snaps something at another, too far for Robin to make out what they're saying. The second man raises the gun he has in his hand, and Robin's eyes widen.

He wouldn't be able to escape this.

" _Sistema C.A.I.!"_

The bullet that no doubt would have been the teen hero's end is blocked by what looks like a giant targeting reticle that has red flames coming off it.

A man walks into Robin's field of view. He's dressed impeccably in a well tailored suit over a red dress shirt, which is at odds with his pierced ears and roguishly styled silver hair.

Across from them, the group of men begin to panic, yelling about the Vongola Tenth Generation and the Storm Guardian – though why they're so scared of a clam*, Robin has no clue.

The man in front of him abruptly moves, swiping his arm across his waist and raising it to reveal a suddenly _there_ weapon now on his arm that he points at the group who started running away as soon as he moved. _"Flame Arrow!"_ he shouts, and a red beam of energy leaves the thing on his arm.

Robin doesn't have time to figure out if those people were hit or not, as the silverette turns toward him.

" _Can you understand me?"_ he asks, walking to stand next to the trapped boy.

" _Yes."_ Robin stares up at him wearily, not sure what this person was doing.

The stranger reaches out, placing his hand against the rubble keeping the youngest Bat-kid captured. There's a red flash, then the concrete block _disintegrates_ from around him.

The man grabs Robin's arm and slings it around his shoulders.

The teen immediately begins to struggle. _"Wait, what are you – ?"_

He glares down at him with pale green eyes. _"Stop moving!"_ he snarls. _"We have to get out of here before more of the Infetto* Famiglia* show up. Or do want to face them in your state?"_

He has a point, Robin admits to himself. He allows the stranger to situate him on the silverette's back and start a brisk pace down the street. They walk for three blocks, ducking into every other alleyway to make sure they're not being followed.

Finally, they reach a car that's engine is idling. The man helps Robin inside, then gets in himself, turning to the driver that the teen hadn't noticed and barking at him to go.

Robin worriedly looks out the window as he watches the ruined city fly by. He hoped his friends weren't in there somewhere.

They leave the city, driving into the country side until they get to a large mansion and drive through it's gates.

" _Why are we here? Why have you **brought** me here?"_ Robin looks searchingly at his rescuer/abductor.

" _You'll see in a minute,"_ he grunts.

They reach the front door and are allowed out of the vehicle, the stranger carrying him piggyback again up the staircase and inside. They head up another staircase and, once at the top, down a complicated series of hallways that Robin memorizes, just in case he needs to make a run for it. Not that he'd get far, but it's the principle of the matter.

Robin perks up slightly. That sounded like KF's voice. Was he here?

The stranger walks to a pair of doors at the end of the hall, which are opened by two servants, allowing for voices to spill out, and for the Boy Wonder to see in.

He feels relief flood through him at the sight of his teammates already in the room.

As the walk in, the other teen heroes turn toward them.

"Robin!" Miss Martian shouts and leaves her seat to rush over, the rest of the Team following. "Are you okay? Hello, Megan, he's being carried. Of course he's not okay! Where are you hurt? What happened?"

The teen opens his move to answer, but the stranger interrupts, this time in slightly accented English. "If you would move so I could put him down!"

The Team moves, allowing the man to set him down on one of the couches and backs off. Another man, also with white hair and wearing the same type of suit – except for the fact his shirt was yellow instead of red, took his place to look over Robin's legs.

A throat clearing attracts everyone's attention to a young man, who appears younger than the others. He has fluffy light brown hair and orange eyes, and is also wearing a suit, just with an orange shirt. The stranger who protected Robin stands to his right.

To his left stands a black haired man with calming grey eyes. He wears a blue shirt with his suit and has a sword resting on his back.

The orange wearing one begins to speak, in accented English, while gazing calmly at Robin. "My name is Tsunayoshi Sawada. This is Takeshi Yamamoto, my Left Hand," he motions to the black haired man. "That is Ryohei Sasagawa," he points to the man looking over Robin's legs, who's hands are now glowing yellow, which seems to be speeding up the healing process. "And you've already met Hayato Gokudera, my Right Hand." The silverette who brought him here nods. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Robin."

"You, too, uh..." Robin trails off, not really sure how to address him.

Thankfully, he understands. "Please, call me Tsuna."

Robin nods as the man at his feet, Ryohei Sasagawa, stands and walks away to lean against the wall by the door.

Tsuna studies them all, his eyes landing on Aqualad, who was standing next to the couch Robins sitting on. "I promised you an explanation once your team was whole, so I will begin now.

"The first thing you need to understand is that we have a... tentative ally who can see into different dimensions, and another who can see into the future. They both warned us of your arrival, as well as your situation.

"We do not have magic in our world, not in the same way you have in yours' but we do have technology for dimensional travel, so while we cannot break the curse you are under, we can guide you to a dimension that _does_.

"And before you say anything, yes we know the transition to our world was a surprise to you, but our allies were quite confident that you would have five days here before you are forced to move on.

"That being said, you are more then welcome to remain here with us until that time is up and we are able to light your way. The only thing I ask is that you do not venture outside, as we are the middle if a crisis and would prefer if you stayed out of it."

The Team exchange looks, then all turn to their leader for his verdict.

"Very well," the Atlantean says. "We will abide by your rules."

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

The next five days are spent in the company of Tsuna and his men, meeting and talking with the technicians in charge of the R&D Department, or (when they could sneak away from their minders) exploring the manor and learning a bit more about this dimension. All they'd been to discover is that the entire world had been thrown into chaos because of the Infetto Famiglia, the same people Robin had encountered when Gokudera – who would not let them call him by his first name – had found him.

They did obey the order to not leave the mansion, though that was just because the teens were afraid of losing their chance to go home, and that they would end up a burden if they _did_ leave.

Finally, just before the end of the fifth day of being in this world,the Team gathered in the lab where the portal was with Tsuna, his two second-in-commands, and the three techs in charge.

"It was a pleasure to meet you all." The brunette says gently, shaking Aqualad's hand.

"The pleasure was ours," the Atlantean returns.

Tsuna smiles, radiating a soft warmth with the simple gesture. "I wish you a safe journey."

 _ **FLOOOOSSHH!**_

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

 **(AN)**

 **That's chapter nine.**

 **For those not in the know, this was a crossover with Katekyo Hitman Reborn, an Anime that I absolutely adore, and would definitely recommend it.**

 **PhantomGoat13 : Yes, he is.**

 **kimcat : I would love to include the Secret Trio, but I wouldn't be able to do it justice, since I never really watched AD:JL or RC:NGN.**

 **reader238 : I guess? I mean, I didn't really have a back story for that, but that works.**

 **cool : Here's what happens.**

 ***Vongola means Clam in Italian.**

 ***Infected in Italian.**

 ***Family in Italian.**

 **Thank you all for reading.**

 **Can anyone guess which universe we're going to next?**


	10. Chapter 10

Arc 3 pt. 3 : Friendship is Magic

Danny groans, rubbing his head as he focuses on clearing his thoughts.

This last week and a half had been one big problem after another. Walking into Klarion's trap, getting tossed head first into a different dimension with a group of teens who don't know his secret, fighting heroes of another world, then finding themselves in yet _another_ world that was dominated by the Mafia of all things, and being told by said Mafia members (what did they call themselves? Mafians? Mafia men? Oh, who cares.) that they would help them get home.

The only good thing about that world was that he was able to get some sleep in his human form, because they had been given separate rooms and he didn't need to risk discovery. He hadn't been able to sleep at all in the first world and had been forced to feed off the emotions of those around him more than he'd liked just to maintain ghost form.

Anyway, Danny was really hoping what Tsuna said was true, and that this dimension would be able to break the curse and get them home.

Danny, not liking the idea of tapping into his Core at the moment, pushes himself to his hands and knees, then forces himself to stand, only to somehow over balance and topple onto his back, sending a small spike of pain through him as he lands wrong.

He remains there for a second, shocked. He tries to sit up, but his body refuses to move that way. Once again, he freezes.

What on Earth is going on?!

He looks down at his body, and yelps.

He wasn't human anymore. Or, well, he hadn't been to begin with, but he wasn't _humanoid_ anymore.

Danny roles onto his stomach and looks down at his front legs. They have white fur that stops about halfway up, turning black, the color continuing up what he can see of his chest.

"Phantom?"

Danny snaps his head toward the place Miss Martian's voice is coming from, feeling relieved to not be alone. The creature he sees standing at the edge of the clearing (they're in a forest, he really should start paying better attention to his surroundings if he wants this hero thing to last) is not Megan at all, and yet, is at the same time.

It (she?) is very delicate looking, almost insect-like, with an emerald colored body and shimmering blue wings. An equally shimmery rust red glossimer extends form the back of it's (her?) neck and bottom, like the mane and tail of a horse. The eyes are pure caramel in color, with no pupil or whites in sight. A splattering of freckles rest on it's (her) cheeks.

"Megan?" He freezes. There wasn't an echo in his voice. Why wasn't an echo in his voice?

"Phantom?" Pulled from his panic, Danny turns to the strange insect creature that the Martian had become, finding that she had moved closer when he was distracted. "Are you all right?" Megan continues worriedly.

"I-" He pauses, still trying to get his head around the sudden change in species. "I think so. Are you?" He looks her up and down pointedly.

She smiles. "I'm okay." She comes to a stop in front of him offering him a hand-er, hoof, up. "Be careful. It takes a moment to get used to walking on all fours instead of just two."

She helps him up then immediately lets go and moves to his side to steady him.

Her wings flutter. "Oh, Phantom, I didn't notice earlier. They're beautiful!"

Danny stares at her, confused. "What are beautiful?"

Megan beams at him. "Your wings." she chirps.

"My what?!" he looks over his shoulder, and spots the awkwardly held bundle of muscles and black and white feathers. He turns back to Megan, wide-eyed.

She just continues to smile at him. "It's okay, don't panic." she says. "Just... try and spread them. Like this."

She hooks her hoof under his wing and pulls, gently, as Danny shivers at the weird sensation. Once the appendage is at it's full length, she nods to the other one.

With a deep breath, Danny tries spreading it. It feels so strange, but he manages to do it.

Fully open, Danny can understand what Megan was talking about. His wings really are quite beautiful. They're mostly black, except for the flight feathers, which are the same blinding white as his legs.

"If it makes you feel any better," Megan regains his attention, "you also have a horn."

Danny freezes. "What."

"Yep." she chirps. "It's pretty too. It's a swirl of black and white, so it stands out from both your dark fur and your light mane. So do your eyes for that matter, still the same green that we're used to."

Danny groans. "Great, so I'm what, exactly? Some kind of unicorn... thing, with wings?"

Megan hums in affirmation.

With a sigh, Danny hangs his head for a moment, then turn back to his Martian teammate. "Do you think you could use the Mind-link to find the others?"

"Of course. Hello, Megan, why didn't I think of that?"

A pause, and then Danny – who had been taking his lessons with Clockwork and the importance of guarding his mind seriously after first learning of the Mind-link – feels the light brushing of the Martian consciousness against his own.

"They're making their way to us now." Megan reports.

Danny nods.

He decides to practice moving around in his new body while they wait, so he starts walking laps around the clearing. Once he's reasonably sure he can walk correctly, he moves onto his wings, opening and closing them, as well as giving them little practice flaps.

Before he can move on to doing both at the same time, the first of their teammates show up.

They walk in side by side, both just plain horses. One with dark tan fur, and long blonde mane and tail that almost drag across the forest floor and dark gray eyes, the other shorter and completely black, so dark in color it looks blue when the light glances off it, with light blue eyes.

Megan stands from where she had lain down after calling to the others. "Artemis! Robin!" she shouts, and her wings lift her off the ground, so she can hover around the two. "I'm so glad your okay!"

Danny walks over as the two say their greetings.

Artemis pointedly looks him over. "Wow, Phantom, you're... well, you certainly look different."

"Gee, thanks." Danny says dryly.

Both newcomers jerk back in surprise.

"Dude," Robin says, "your voice lost it's echo."

Danny gives him his best deadpan look. "Nooo, really? I didn't realize."

"We're in a different universe," the sound of Wally's voice causes them all to turn to where his coming out of the undergrowth, followed by two others that Danny's pretty sure is Superboy and Aqualad. "Maybe something in the air made you "come alive" again." He doesn't sound like he believes his own theory, which is understandable, considering Wally is very scientific by nature.

Traveling like this must be playing on his nerves.

Wally, himself, is now a bright yellow Pegasus with an equally bright orange/red mane and tail, his eyes the same pale green they are as a human.

Megan quickly flies to greet them, confirming by her happy shouts that the two others are, indeed, with Wally.

Danny takes a good look at them.

Superboy is a white Unicorn with a short, black mane and tail, his blue eyes currently focused completely as she chatters to him.

Aqualad, on the other hand, had a very strange choice in form for this world. He was a half horse half eagle Hippogriff – which he only knew the name of because of Sam. His fur and feathers are a dark, chocolaty brown, his mane and tail a pale blonde almost white, and his eyes silver.

Danny watches as the said Atlantean-turned-Hippogriff steps forward and takes control of the situation.

"We need to search for shelter." He says. "As well as water. I'm going to assume that our equestrian nature will allow us to eat the vegetation, so we will live until we can find help."

"That will not be necessary, young ones."

The Team acts as one, spinning around and sinking into ready positions. Even if they don't have quite the same control over their new bodies as their old ones, they won't go down without a fight.

(And boy, does it feel good to have someone inexplicably on your side for once.)

The creature that exits the foliage is like Danny, in that it (she, by her voice) has a horn and a set of wings, but that is where the similarities end. For one she's taller, taller then even Superboy, who's the tallest of them. Her fur is a dark blue, and her eyes a light turquoise. Her mane and tail are a royal blue surrounded by a light purple, and flow to the side without wind, and seem to twinkle with stars. On her chest is a black necklace with a crescent moon on it. On her hooves are silver shoes, and on her head, behind her horn, glints an obsidian tiara. Everything about her scream nighttime.

Behind her, are two identical Pegusi, fur a dark gray and wearing dark blue armor.

"Peace, young ones," she continues. "I mean you no harm. I am Princess Luna of Equestria, where you have landed. My sister and I felt your arrival, and I was sent to ensure our peoples safety. Mayhap I ask, what brings you to our world?"

Aqualad straightens – though he's the only one – and steps forward to stand in front. "I am Aqualad, leader of the Team, a group of young heroes trained under the elite protectors the Justice League. We have been cursed by one of our enemies, Klarion the Witch Boy, to travel the multiverse. Our last stop, we met some with technology to do the same. They were able to steer us toward a world with the ability to break the curse. Your world. Can you help us?"

Princess Luna studies them. Then her horn lights up with a sheer blue, and she points it at them. "If I may cast on you."

Aqualad nods.

A beam of light leaves her horn and slowly scans their leader. Once it's finished, the glow disappears and the Princess nods in a sharp motion. "I recognize this spell, though I am afraid no pony, not even us Alicorns, have the strength to cast it, nor it's counter."

Danny feels a spike of panic and terror flow through him, and while he knows that some of it comes from his teammates, he can't help but to freeze under it's assault. They were never going to get home.

"Luckily for you," the Princess' voice pulls their attention back to her. "I know someone who can, and does, cast this spell and counter."

"Truly?" Aqualad asks.

At her nod, some of the tension leaves the Team. They could break this. They could go home.

"Come," the blue equine says as she turns from them. "I will take you to the Castle. My sister and I will call him for you. Be of mind, he thrives on Chaos, and will use his magic to such an affect."

They walk through the forest, the Princess leading them, with the two guards between her and the Team, and the Team themselves following, until they reach a cobble stone path. They walk on this path until they reach a city.

They continue up the now winding streets, coming to a stop when they reach the end, on which sits a ginormous white castle that flies flags of many different colors.

Princess Luna stops and turns to dismiss her guards, then motion for the Team to follow her inside, leading them to a huge throne room that's walls are covered in stain glass windows.

Before them is a raised dais, on which stands another... Danny's not sure what to call her. An Alicorn, right? That's what Princess Luna called herself, at least.

Anyway, this Alicorn is the exact opposite of their guide. She's a beautiful cream white, with a flowing mane and tail layered in two shades of light blue, a light green, and a light pink. Her eyes are purple, and the crown on her head is made of gold, as are her shoes and the necklace on her chest.

"Sister," Princess Luna says, "these are our guests, their leader is Aqualad. New friends," she turns to the teens, "this is my sister, Princess Celestia of Equestria." She turns back to white Alicorn. "Sister, they have a curse upon them, one I recognized as something only a Chaos user could hope to wield, or break."

The new Princess, Celestia, nods and steps down from her platform. "Then I suppose there is only one Being we can call." She says, and spreads her wings as she speaks her next words. "Discord, we require your assistance."

For a moment, nothing happens. Then, the room seems to get darker somehow, and the shadows start moving and a haunting voice calls out. _"WHO DARES SUMMON ME!"_

Danny tenses, and stands back-to-back in a circle with his Team.

Suddenly, a breathe of air ghosts past his ear. Danny freezes.

"Boo!" The word is spoken right into his ear, and Danny spins, accidentally loosing some kind of ectoplast from his forehead – his... horn? - into the center of the circle of his friends.

The malicious voice roars with laughter as Princess Celestia shouts, "Discord!"

One of the strangest creatures Danny has ever seen (not the strangest, he's seen some pretty strange things in the Ghost Zone, after all) appears beside her. Its torso is brown furred, while its neck is gray furred and its tail is covered in red scales with white fur at the very tip. It has two different horns on the top of its head, two different front legs, one a tan lion's paw, the other an eagle's claw, two different hind legs, one a goat's hoof, the other like what most would think of on a T-Rex, and two different wings, one blue and feathered, and the other purple and bat-like. Its eyes are red on the inside and yellow on the outside, and it has one fang sticking out one side of its mouth, the rest of its teeth flat.

"Come now, Celestia," it says, smiling at the older Princess, "you can't begrudge me a bit of fun, can you?"

She sighs, then looks him in the eyes. "We need your help, Discord. These ponies are not from our world. Luna believes you know the curse on them, and it's counter."

"Really, now," he says, and Danny tenses even more as the... Thing, comes right up to him and takes a big sniff. Danny has to tap into his Core to keep his feet- er, hooves, on the ground as he suddenly feels like he's in a vacuum. "Why, my dear Princess, I _do_ know this curse. In fact," he snaps his claws, which somehow works the same way it would if he was snapping fingers, and Danny feels as if a weight has lifted from his shoulders, "I just removed it.

"Now if you excuse me, I'm about to be late for tea with Fluttershy. Ta!" And with a _**Pop!**_ he disappears.

A beat of silence.

"Wait," Wally breaks it. "That's it?! We can go home now?!"

"Yes I imagine so," Princess Celestia say with a knowing smile. "In fact, there is someone here who has been awaiting your arrival."

She steps out of the way as a tall blue Alicorn, even bigger then she is, comes out from behind the dais, wearing a simple purple cloak that trails behind him. His white mane and tail flow to the side just like the Princess', and humor dances in his red eyes.

Despite him being in a different form, Danny would recognize this person anywhere.

"Clockwork!" Danny charges his mentor, slamming into him and hugging him as tight as he can.

The Master of Time wraps both a wing and a foreleg around him, and Danny can feel the stress melting off him.

Clockwork was here, there was no way they wouldn't be going home.

"Daniel," the ghost greats, "it's good to see you again." He looks over to the other teens, "and you as well, Robin. I see you have been taking good care of my apprentice."

Danny takes his face out of his mentor's front to look at his team just in time to see Robin nodding.

"Wait," Wally says, "who is this guy? How do you-" he points to Robin, "-know him? And-" he looks at Danny, "-your name is Daniel?"

Clockwork chuckles as Danny answers. "This," he says, "is my mentor, Clockwork. He's the Master of Time. Daniel is – was – my human name. As for Robin knowing him," Danny throws a smile at the Boy Wonder, "who do you think told him where to find me?"

Danny turns back to the back to his mentor,looking at him in awe. "But, how did you get here?"

The blue Alicorn smiles down at his charge. "The Ghost Zone is not simply connected to one dimension, Daniel. It's portals touch many worlds beyond your own, including Equestria. Princess Celestia is an old friend of mine."

Said Princess nods. "We will leave you to return them, Clockwork." She turns and leads her younger sister from the room.

Once they're gone, Clockwork waves the now glowing horn on his head. A portal appears, and he motions toward it. "Shall we?"

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

It's a bit disorienting, being back on two legs. Clockwork waits for them all to get back on their feet before drawing attention to one of his Time Mirrors – making Danny realize they're in his mentor's Tower – which shows the same barn that Klarion had trap them in, only now it was crawling with League members.

" _Your partners await your return."_ The Master of Time says.

Excitedly, the Team races through the Mirror. As Danny's about to step through, Clockwork catches his arm. Danny stops and allows his mentor to wave his staff in front of his face.

The full ghost steps back and smiles at the Ghost Boy sadly. _"The time comes ever closer._ _ **He**_ _will approach you when_ _ **he**_ _is at_ _ **his**_ _strongest."_

Danny sighs. _"I know, Clockwork. But... does it have to be me?"_

Clockwork lays a comforting hand on his apprentice's shoulder. _"Unless you wish for another to take your place. But remember, there is only_ _ **one**_ _other who can take it, and to have him do so..."_

" _Leads to a war torn future."_ Danny finishes quietly, not meeting his eyes. _"I know."_

Clockwork nods solemnly. _"Yes."_ He gives Danny a light push. _"But that will not happen. Go join your friends, Daniel. They will be the key..."_

Danny steps through the Mirror.

" _...to protecting us all."_

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

The reception they get from the League is a much welcome, yet dreaded, one.

As soon as they come through the portal, they're all bundled up in blankets and shuttle back to the Cave by Martian Manhunter flying Megan's Bio-ship. Once there, the teens are escorted to the infirmary.

Danny is released faster then any of the others. He leaves right afterward.

Watching all the adult heroes fuss over their protegees had caused his chest to tighten, making him long for there to be someone there to greet and hug and fuss over him, or that he had stayed at the Tower with Clockwork.

(No, he didn't want his parents there, he didn't. They would rather tear him apart molecule-by-molecule, he didn't want them to know about Phantom, he didn't.)

His return to AmityPark didn't have much fanfare, either. He flew to Sam's mansion (the place Team Phantom had agreed to meet up after any Justice League missions) and told his two friends and his sister what had happened, then immediately had to set out for Ghost Hunting as Skulker decided to drop in.

After all was said and done, Danny layed down in his own bed, glad to be home at last.

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

 **(AN)**

 _ **Phew,**_ **that was a long one. Anyway, that's the end of Arc 3.**

 **Good try to those who guessed what this chapter's dimension would be.**

 **PhantomGoat13 : Thank you. Katekyo Hitman Reborn is an amazing Anime, I really enjoy it, though my chapter takes place about seven years after the show's end. Tsuna is absolutely hilarious and _NOT_ the calm, cool, and collected young man he grows into under Reborn, who wasn't written in because I wasn't sure where to put him in. I'm glad you enjoyed.**

 **Bananarock509 : That's... Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, right? I don't really know much about them, other then the hilarious redo of the song by SonicSong182 on Youtube. (Shrugs and smiles sheepishly) Sorry.**

 **MewNeko22 : (Chirps) You're welcome.**

 **MysteryAsia : I love your name! Eeee! Thank you for coming back! I'm sooo glad you like it.**

 **Guest : I'm sorry. Please read the Author's Note at the top of chapter nine. It explains why they're dimension hopping. Thank you.**

 **Thank you all for reading, and let me know what you think in the review section.**

 **Oh! Also, I have a new oneshot out. It's called You're Welcome, and it's in the Percy Jackson Fandom. Go check it out!**


	11. Chapter 11

Intermission 4 : A Fight With A Knight And Maybe A Scream Or Two

 **Dedicated to Ghost for idea.**

Danny floats above Amity Park, high enough that his city is a blur of twinkling lights and happy sounds. Groups of adults and children, wearing costumes of all shapes and colors, trek through the night, traveling from house to house, ringing doorbells and collecting candy.

He spins over onto his back so he can watch as the last rays of sun disappear below the horizon.

It will be time soon, just of few minutes more, and Danny's not afraid to admit (only to himself, he won't burden his friends with his worry) that he's nervous. This will be proof of his claim, if **_he_** comes, and then things will be normal – well, for him at least – until December.

Because once this, _The Second Right,_ as Clockwork calls it, is over and done with, no ghost, not even the worst of his enemies, will be able to so much as _touch_ him until the end of _The Third Right,_ which wouldn't be till the Winter Solstice.

That being said, the only thing he'll have left to worry about is his work with the Justice League (and his homework, but who's counting that?) and their sidekicks.

(Honestly, he didn't see why the other teen heroes had such a thing against being called "sidekicks." It wasn't like the adults were being derogatory about it.)

The sun finishes it's downward trek and a chill roles up his spine as his Ghost Sense goes off.

It's time.

" _DANIEL PHANTOM."_

Danny turns at the sound of his name in the undead and unnamed tongue of the Ghost Zone, finding the ghost he had been waiting for behind him.

He takes a deep breath that's unneeded in this form, and pushes a bit of energy from his Core to his vocal cords so he can speak the same language.

" _FRIGHT KNIGHT, SPIRIT OF HALLOWEEN AND LOYAL KNIGHT OF THE KING. GREETINGS ON YOUR SPECIAL DAY. MAY THE ETERNAL HAND OF TIME KEEP YOU IN IT'S FAVOR."_

The Fright Knight floats before him on top of his mount, the Alicorn Nightmare, his black armor hiding all but his glowing green eyes in the shadow of his helmet, and his purple fire cape flowing in the wind.

" _AND MAY THE ANCIENT ONES SMILE ON OUR MEETING."_ The knight returns, then dismounts his steed. _"THE MASTER OF TIME HAST TAUGHT THOU WELL. DO THOU KNOWEST WHY I HATH COME TO THEE?"_

Danny dips his head, and does his best to appear stoic and calm. _Here we go._ He thinks. _"I DO."_

" _THEN LET US BEGIN."_ The older ghost draws his sword and points it at him. _"DANIEL PHANTOM, THOU HAST PASS The First Right, WITH THE DEFEAT OF THE FORMER KING OF THE INFINITE REALMS, PARIAH DARK. BY RIGHT OF CONQUEST, HIS THRONE NOW IS YOUR'S. BUT THE PEOPLE UNDER THIS CHARGE ARE NOT WEAK, AND WILL NOT SERVE A WEAK KING. AS THE SWORN SERVANT OF THE THRONE, IT FALLS TO ME TO TEST THEE. AS SUCH, I CHALLENGE THEE, DANIEL PHANTOM, TO A SWORD FIGHT. IF THOU WINS, THEE WILL PROCEED TO The Third Right, AND BECOME EVER CLOSER TO GAINING THE THRONE. IF THOU LOSES, THOU WILST LOSE ALL CHANCE OF GAINING THE CROWN, AND I SHALT NOVE ON TO TEST THE OTHER POSSIBLE KING. THE FIRST TO REACH THIRD BLOOD SHALL WIN. DO THEE AGREE TO THESE TERMS?"_

Danny reaches up and pulls Drako Kanalo from his back to whip it to the side. He pushes some of his ectoplasm into it, changing it's shape into that of an English sword, and allows the energy to continue up his arm and over the rest of his body, changing his clothes from the light cotton he had been wearing into lightly armored leather and metal.

He gazes at Fright Knight, making sure to meet his eyes. He wouldn't lose this fight. _"I ACCEPT YOUR CHALLENGE."_

Fright whips his own sword, the Soul Shredder, to the side. _"SO BE IT."_

They float forward, and passively cross their swords, charging ectoplasm into the blades. At the place they touch, a sphere of green energy forms, growing out to encompass the area around them, ensuring that no one can interrupt them until this fight is over.

They both float away from each other and lock eyes again. They bow, then fall into their ready positions.

As the full moon comes to eclipse them, they charge.

Danny immediately finds himself falling back on the instinct that fighting with Frostbite's and Princess Dora's peoples had instilled in him as he focuses on dodging, parrying, and striking back. He's really glad that Clockwork had warned him or else he would _**not**_ be prepared for this.

He loses himself in the fight, using the solidity in the sphere to run and jump and slide nimbly around his opponent. He's... honestly kinda surprised by how well he's doing. Fright Knight is known as one of the best swordsmen in the Zone, the fact that Danny could hold his own against him spoke of how much he had improved.

Finally, sweat trickling down his back and two Bloods each, Danny manages to get Third Blood first, by slashing Fright's thigh.

With that strike, the ectoplasmic sphere around them fades away, and the Spirit of Halloween falls to a knee in mid-air.

" _THE CHALLENGE HAST BEEN WON."_ The ghost knight says. _"UNTIL THE END OF The Third Right, AND THOU PROVEST THY WORTHYNESS, MY SWORD,"_ he holds up the Soul Shredder in both hands and bows his head as he offers it to Danny. _"IS THEE'S TO COMMAND, MY PRINCE."_

Danny takes the sword and places the blade on one shoulder, then the other. _"RISE, FRIGHT KNIGHT, SERVANT OF THE KING. AND TAKE YOUR SWORD. STAND AT THE SIDE OF YOUR FUTURE RULER, AS IS YOUR SWORN DUTY."_

The sudden cheering from down below startles Danny. He looks below, to see that the fight had gathered quite a crowd, possibly the whole populace of Amity Park, and Danny feels equal parts embarrassed and proud. He had just become the Heir to the Ghost Zone in front of his entire town, and judging by the News crews gathered around, maybe the entire world. Even if they didn't understand what exactly was going on, it was still a big deal.

Danny turns back to Fright Knight, who had risen to his feet and stood to Danny's right, and smiles at the full ghost. _"Thank you, Fright Knight. You are dismissed. Have some fun on your Holiday, and I'll see you on the Solstice."_

" _Until then, Heir Phantom."_ He says, then the older ghost calls to and mounts his steed, disappearing off into the night.

Danny quickly returns home, and climbs into bed. With the fight over, Danny could finally focus on the other reason for his nervousness.

A few days ago, Danny was with the Team, who had joined Black Canary and Green Arrow for a patrol in Star City. There, Danny had seen the Canary Cry for the first time, and had been reminded of his own Ghostly Wail.

So Danny (with a bit of nudging from Clockwork) had approached her yesterday to see if she would be willing to try and help him.

The problem is, every time Danny _used_ the Wail, he couldn't stop it. It completely drained every last drop of ectoplasm out of him. Only once he ran out could he truly stop the attack. But without any ectoplasm left, he transforms back to human.

He isn't sure if he can trust the superheroine with his secret. Well, he wasn't until he learned that she did more for the Team then just training and back-up den mother.

She also works as the Team's counselor/therapist, and, when Danny approached her, had given a vow that she wouldn't talk about what he wanted to anyone unless it was life threatening.

So tomorrow, he would be meeting with her at the back of Mount Justice, where he would tell her his secret and, hopefully, the help he desperately needed to control his Wail.

Now if only he could get his mind to settle down so he could get to sleep. (Sigh.)

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

Danny hovers an inch or so off the ground, trying to avoid eye contact with the adult hero waiting patiently in front of him. It wasn't really working.

It's just after noon, and the sun is high in the sky over Mount Justice. He's in a clearing in the woods behind the mountain, trying to bring up the courage to tell Black Canary, who had taken time out of her day to come meet him, why he had asked her here.

Shakily, he takes a deep breath, and meets the heroine's blue eyes. _"You won't tell anyone about this, right? Not even the other heroes?"_

She nods. "I promise, Phantom. No one but the two of us will know what happens here today."

Danny nervously figits with his fingers, and begins to talk. _"So, ah, the first thing you need to know is, well, I've...not exactly been telling you the full truth. You see, I'm not, exactly, fully, dead."_ He winces, waiting for her to start demanding explanations, or say that it wasn't possible.

After a few moments of silence, where there is no loud incredulous shouting, Danny peeks out from under the brim of his hat, to find the heroine looking at him wide-eyed. She takes in a deep breath, then looks him in the eye.

"I believe you." She says, and Danny feels a weight he didn't realize was there lift off his chest. "Please, continue."

" _I-it was a lab accident,"_ Danny admits quietly. _"I got electrocuted while being doused in ectoplasm. Ever since, I've been fighting ghosts and trying to get control of my powers. I still slip at times while not in Ghost Form."_ He takes another deep breath. He could do this. _"Which is why I wanted to talk to you. I have an attack, like your Canary Cry, only, I can't... really... control it. And it... kinda... drains all my energy, and I can't stop it until it does. Without any energy left, I transform back into my Human Form."_ He looks at her pleadingly. _"Can you help?"_

She smiles reassuringly. "I don't know, but I can certainly try. First things first, I want to see what you can do." She walks to him and stands next to him, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "Don't worry about the forest, most of the trees got replaced with fakes after a spar gone bad between Superman and Flash, so just scream into the trees and once your through, we'll talk."

Danny nods and takes a few steps away from her. He braces himself, fills his lungs with as much air as they can take...

And screams.

The sound of a thousand tormented souls wailing in despair comes out, accompanied by _waves_ of green ectoplasm that almost immediately begin to tear at the ground and uproot trees. Like always, Danny tries to stop the Wail, and like always, nothing he does effects it.

Danny falls to his knees as he feels the Wail latch strongly onto his Core, eating through all the energyhe has. Finally, Danny feels the cool breeze-like touch of his Transformation Rings flow over his body. A moment later, the Wail had spent the last of the energy in his Core, and Danny kneels there on the forest floor, panting and breathless.

It only takes three seconds for his Core to start reproducing ectoplasm again as it feeds from both the food he had for lunch and the worried/startled/impressed emotions coming from behind him.

With a sigh, he shifts for his knees to almost sitting criss-cross.

"Phantom," Black Canary is suddenly there, kneeling next to him and placing her hand on his shoulder, worriedly searching his face. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he pants, "just... need to... catch my... breath."

She nods and settles back on her heels. "Well, I can see why you wanted the help. And the secrecy. I'll start working on something, but for now, I think we should start with some breathing exercises, and we'll go from there."

Danny nods, glad to finally have some help with this.

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

 **(AN)**

 **Once again, this chapter is dedicated to Ghost, who had the idea of the League helping Danny with his powers. Thank you so much, Ghost.**

 **Answers to reviews.**

 **PhantomGoat13 : Thank you! Here it is, hope you enjoyed!**

 **DinoPirate : He does, but sometimes you just need a trusted adult authority figure to tell you "good job". I'm not saying that Danny wouldn't accept such approval from his friends and sister every once in a while, but what he really wants at that point in time, is for his parents or Clockwork to be there with him.**

 **hrisi292 : Nothing that I know of :) Danny doesn't know who Luna is, nor what she does. All he knows is that she reminds him of the night sky, so there was nothing to fanboy over. Sorry. (Shrugs)**

 **Thank you all for reading, and let me know what you think, or if you have any ideas, in the comments.**


	12. Chapter 12

Intermission 5 : It's About Time... For the Ball

 **Dedicated to TheFishKing for their idea.**

Danny sits on the counter, watching as Megan stirs the chocolate chip cookie dough with a spatula in interest. He had never gotten to see someone baking up close and personal before – with the way his parents' cooking always turned out, and never really hanging out in the kitchen with the red haired Martian before, that wasn't really that much of a surprise – so he's paying as much attention as he can while keeping an inner eye on his Core.

He knows today is important for something to do with ghosts, it's on the tip of his tongue, but he can't quite figure out what, so for now he's going to enjoy himself on his weekend away from Amity – and the break from training his Wail with Canary.

Sudden shouting from the direction of the training room attracts both teens attention. They trade glances, and Megan gets a far off look in her eye as she activates her telepathy. After a moment, she blinks a few times and turns back to Danny.

"Conner says it's a ghost," she says, and Danny stiffens in surprise. "Apparently, he wants to speak with you."

" _Right,"_ he says, and is more then a little relieved that the specter in question wants to talk and not try his luck at getting past the ancient protection set in place by the completion of The Second Right. _"Let's go see what he needs."_

The two quickly fly to the training room. They find the other Team members present (Aqualad, Superboy, and Artemis) surrounding the spook they had spoken of.

Once he gets a good look at him, Danny relaxes. He knows this ghost, and not in a bad way.

He flies over, smiling. _"Good day, Sir Favian."_ he hovers in between Artemis and Aqualad, and extents a hand to one of the youngest Knights of Aragon, who had only just been knighted by their new Crowned Princess. There's a nudge in the back of his mind. There was... something to do with Princess Dora today. Now if only can remember what.

" _A good day to you as well, Sir Phantom."_ Sir Favian returns, clasping his forearm and pulling him into a hug so can pat each other on the back. They draw away as Favian continues. _"I am sorry for interrupting you, my friend, but Lady Sam, Sir Tucker, Lady Jazz and the Princess herself thought it best to remind you of the Ball tonight."_

Danny facepalms. _**That's**_ what he had forgotten. Dora was having her Coronation Ball tonight, as well as the first annual celebration for the defeat of her brother, Aragon.

" _Thanks, Favian. It completely slipped my mind,"_ he says.

" _But of course, Sir Phantom."_ the ghost answers. _"We can't have one of the Guests of Honor not coming, now can we?"_ He adds cheekily, and Danny roles his eyes, grinning. _"Though, I am afraid, with my message delivered I must be on my way. There is still much to be done."_ he begins to fly away, stopping at the wall before actually phasing through. _"Oh, and Lady Sam informed the Princess of your new quest and it's members. She wishes to extent an invite for those who are available on such short notice. Until tonight, Sir Phantom."_

" _Until tonight, Sir Favian."_ Danny watches the medieval ghost fly through the wall, then turns to his teammates, smiling sheepishly and rubbing the back of his neck. _"Sorry about that. I completely forgot about the Ball tonight."_

"It is fine, Phantom," Aqualad returns.

"So," Artemis says, "a Ball, huh? And you've actually been Knighted?"

Danny nods, a bit embarrassed. Only Team Phantom knew that, and that was only because Sam and Tucker were right next to him. _"Yeah, it's a long story, but the short version is me and two teens who have a habit of getting caught in my misadventures helped a kingdom in the Ghost Zone free themselves from their tyrant prince and gave the his sister the confidence she needed to take over. This is the one year anniversary of his defeat, and the Princess' Coronation. Since Sir Favian offered, would you like to come with?"_

The others exchange looks, then Megan grabs Superboy's arm and gives him puppy-dog-eyes while Artemis shrugs and Aqualad gives a slight nod. Megan squeals when the half Kryptonian delivers his own affirmative.

"I just one problem," the archer says. "I have absolutely nothing to where to a Ball."

"Oh, don't worry." Megan say excitedly with a clap of her hands. "I'm sure I have something you can borrow." She lunges forward and grabs the blonde's wrist, pulling her away. "Wally's going to hate that he can't come."

Danny turns to the two older boys, who are staring back at him calmly. _"Um, right, so... be ready by 6:15. The Ball starts at 7:00, but we need time to get to the Zone, then to Aracon. We'll need to meet up with the humans who have been invited to, and catch a ride with them."_

Superboy grunts before leaving the room.

Aqualad gives a small smile. "I shall go inform Red Tornado of the situation. Until then, Phantom."

" _Yeah,"_ Danny watches him go, then sighs.

Well, at least he has some time to spend in the ghost proof training room.

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

Danny floats in front of the Zeta-tubes, waiting for the girls to arrive with Aqualad ( who had tried to get Danny to call him Kaldur, again, even though Danny had made his discomfort in referring to the more experienced teen as such known) and Superboy (who had never told Danny his civilian name, even though he had heard Megan use it).

The half Kryptonian hasn't changed his outfit much, except to add a white button-up shirt, half closed, and a suit jacket over top.

The Atlantean, on the other hand, is wearing a black suit, tie and all.

"Sorry to keep you waiting!" Megan shouts as she and Artemis rush up to them. Both girls are dressed quite beautifully in ball gowns, the archer's a lovely emerald green and the Martian's royal blue with red and yellow accents. The girls stop and Megan twirls, causing her dress to flare. "Well," she asks, "what do you think?"

Danny can't help but to snicker at the dazed, awed look on Superboy's face.

"You both look very beautiful." Aqualad compliments.

" _Yeah,"_ Danny agrees. _"You'll fit right in at Aragon."_

Artemis acknowledges both of them, but Megan's focus is on the still speechless Superboy. "Conner?" She asks. "What do you think?" The two are close together, only a few inches apart. After a moment of the two gazing into each other's eyes, Megan looks away, a red flush on her checks. "R-right." she stutters. "So where are we going?"

" _The Amity Park Zeta-tubes."_ Danny answers. _"Once we're there, I'll fly Artemis and Aqualad and you'll fly Superboy and we'll head to the Fenton's home. The adults aren't home, so we'll be able to head right down for the lab."_

"Then what are we waiting for?" Artemis says. "Let's go."

They journey through the Zeta-tubes, and fly to Fenton Works. Danny doesn't bother knocking on the door. Like he told the Team, only those going to Dora's Ball are inside.

He leads them down to the basement lab, where Jazz and Tucker are leaning against the Spectral Speeder, deck out in a dress and a suit, respectively, obviously waiting for them.

" _Hey, guys,"_ he greets as he steps of the stairs, his teammates behind him. _"Sam not here yet?"_

Both of them share a smirk, and Danny has a feeling they're hiding something from him.

"She's putting the last final touches on her dress," Jazz answers, then turns to the young heroes with him. "Hi, I'm Jazz Fenton. Just call me Jazz. It's a pleasure to meet you all. Da- Phantom talks about you guys a lot."

"He does?" Artemis asks at the same time Aqualad speaks.

"The pleasure is ours, Jazz. I am Aqualad, this is Miss Martian, Superboy, and Artemis." The Atlantean turns to Danny with a raised eyebrow. "Who makes a good point." He looks back at Jazz. "I'm afraid Phantom only told us about you earlier today."

Danny chuckles and rubs his neck sheepishly. _"Sorry, it just never passed my mind. But I wasn't lying when I say they have a tendency to get caught in my misadventures. It's happened so offend that they've become a bit like tech support and back-up and research helpers all roled into one."_

Before anyone can respond, the sound of stomping boots comes from the stairwell.

"Sorry I'm late, guys. My lip-gloss buried itself in my bag and I had to go searching for it." Sam's voice comes down, and then she's there, standing at the bottom of the stairs, Danny's mouth goes dry.

" _Wow,"_ Danny breathes. _"Sam, you look..."_ he hovers closer to her, to get a better look. _"I-um, wow."_

And really, that was all that could describe her. She's wearing purple thigh-high, laced up, high-heeled boots green laces, dark green leggings and shirt, with a black leather half shirt over top. Her skirt is reminiscent of a tutu, black in color with a neon green underside. A ragged purple shawl hangs over it, some of the longer pieces almost brushing the ground. On her hands are black fingerless leather gloves. On her right arm is a netted purple fingerless glove that ends at mid-upper arm, where a golden vine-like bracelet with a purple flower. On the left is a neon green netted glove that ends at her elbow over top a purple one that ends just past. Covering the rest is another golden vine with a purple flower. A matching necklace adorns her neck,and she has spider earrings on as well. Her lips are colored purple, and her make-up is a mix of purple, black, and green. Her bangs hang over her face, and a braided crown of purple and green hair separates them from the rest, which is pulled back into a spiky ponytail held by a purple band.

It's the eccentric, exotic look Danny had come to expect from Sam, and she looked...

"You like it?" She asks, smiling. "Cause I'm not sure if it's appropriate for a Ball, but I figured I should stick with the theme of not caring and – "

" _Sam."_ Danny interrupts, subconsciously taking her hand in his. _"You look amazing."_

They stand there, staring into each others eyes, and Danny feels like he could stay here forever, just gazing into her lilac eyes.

That is, until a quiet "Aww" comes from behind him. Immediately, Danny let's go of her hand and backs away, flushing a furious green as he turns to face the room's other occupants.

Danny clears his throat and tries to get control of his blush. _"So, ah, Sam's here now. Let's head out!"_ He hurriedly enters the Speeder before anyone can comment, though he can hear light snickering.

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

The flight through the Ghost Zone is relatively quiet, with a few mutterings of awe from those who had never been and a complaint of a head-ache from Megan, who had forgotten to lock down her telepathy before they entered.

It takes half-an-hour to reach Aragon and another few minutes to find somewhere to park the Speeder. The castle is absolutely crowded, which makes sense this is also celebrating Dora's coronation, which means all other governmental establishments in the Zone have sent either their Leaders or representatives, along with their escorts.

" _Alright, guys, follow my lead on this,"_ Danny says as he exits the Speeder. _"There's going to be a lot of important ghosts here, it's not every century that a new ruler is coronated, after all. Just stay close to me, Sam, Tucker, or Jazz and you should be fine."_

They make their way toward the castle, joining the flow of ghosts that are heading up the steps. Once inside, they continue to follow the crowd into the ballroom, where the orchestra is playing a light, mystical sounding tune that accompanies the dull roar of conversation. They stop halfway down the stairs to the floor, where a ghost has been announcing the names of the guests.

Danny whispers everyone's names into the announcer's ear, then leads the rest of the way down to the floor.

He motions his friends to continue after him and makes his way across the room and over to the throne were Dora sits, prim and proper in her blue ballgown and golden tiara.

" _Greeting, Your Highness."_ He says with a bow.

" _Sir Phantom,"_ she answers with a smile. _"Lady Jazz, Sir Tucker, Lady Sam. Greetings, and welcome. It is a pleasure to see you again. And who might your guests be?"_

" _Four of my new teammates. Artemis, Superboy, Miss Martian, and Aqualad, our leader."_ Danny replies, waving toward each person as he calls their name. _"Guys, this is Crown Princess Dorathea, of Aragon."_

Everyone says hello in their own way, and Dora, after returning them, sends them on there way so she can greet the next guests.

For the next few hours, they wonder around the room, allowing Danny to introduce the young heroes to his ghostly allies and friends, and dance in the center, without going to far, whenever it strikes their fancy.

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

Later that night, Danny jerks awake as his Ghost Sense interrupts the beautiful dream replay of the dance he shared with Sam just a few hours ago.

He slides out from under his sheets, and changes into his Ghost Form, flying out into the still night air.

He flies higher, trying to see... there! A glow in an ally way.

He swoops down as the light goes out, and waits as his own aura illuminates the brick walls around him.

"Good evening, Daniel."

Danny spins around at the sound of that sleezy voice, finding his arch enemy behind him in his own Human Form. _"Vlad!"_ He sneers. _"What are you doing here? Whatever you're planning, it won't work, not while I'm under consideration for the Throne! You can't touch me. No ghost can!"_

"No, Daniel," he tuts. "I can't touch you." His smile becomes sinister. "But who says it has to be me?"

Danny's widen in understanding, and he spins around, only to take a hard hit to the temple.

He doesn't remember hitting the ground.

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

 **(AN)**

 **Here it is. Chapter 12. Thank you again TheFishKing, who provided the idea for this chapter. You rock!**

 **Fear the Fuzzy Bear : Thank you, I'm glad you like it.**

 **hrisi292 : Sorry, but thank you anyway.**

 **Raphaim : Thank you for catching that. It will be fixed.**

 **Once again, thank you all for reading. If you have any requests, corrections, or comments feel free to review.**


	13. Chapter 13

Arc 4 : I Have A Bad Feeling About This

" _Oh, yes. Such a perfect specimen. And you say he's just like you?"_

" _He is."_

 _Danny tries to open his eyes, to take in his surroundings and see the speakers. Something was wrong. This didn't feel like his bed, or the couch, or anywhere he might have slept when at a sleepover with his friends. Also, he only recognizes one of those voices, vaguely, and that doesn't inspire confidence._

" _Put him under, there's no reason to by inhumane about his treatment, and we don't want him getting away before our plans come to fruition."_

 _The panic that had just begun to build is washed away by a sweet smell in his nostrils , and Danny knows no more._

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

The first sign that something is wrong, is Black Canary stalking into the Cave's common room, lookingworried, annoyed, and frustrated.

Robin pauses the game, to Wally's irritation, and turns to the heroine. "Something wrong, BC?" He asks, cocking his head to the side and giving her his best you-can-trust-me-I'm-just-a-kid look.

Black Canary sighs and runs her fingers through her hair, seeming to be debating something, before answering. "Have any of you seen Phantom? He asked for some personal training and this is the third session he's missed."

She gains the whole room's attention with those words, Conner taking his new headphones – that he got from Superman – out, Kaldur straightening from where he was polishing his Water-bearers, and the girls turning around on their stools where they were having a study session at the kitchen island.

"That doesn't sound like Phantom." M'gann says.

"Yeah," Artemis adds. "He can be late, but he never **skips** anything."

"My thoughts exactly." BC agrees. "But that doesn't change the fact that he's not here, and hasn't been for a good week. So none of you have heard from him?"

At the dis-affirmation (heavy on the dis) from everyone, the heroine nods and leaves, mumbling about talking to Batman.

"I can't believe Phantom would do this," Rocket says, standing from her seat and sweeping her gaze over the room.

"I agree," Kaldur says. "We need to find out where he is. He could be in danger."

"But how?!" Wally bursts out. "He's a ghost! Plus, the League was never able to get a communicator working that could pick up the signal in both the Ghost Zone and the Real World!"

Artemis makes her way over to her boyfriend, grabbing his hand and pecking his cheek. "There... might be a way." She pauses, meeting everyone's eyes one-on-one, settling on M'gann. "Sam, Tucker, and Jazz."

The Martian girl gasps and hits her forehead. "Hello, Megan! Of course! They might know where he is." She smiles and Robin looks at her, confused. He's not the only one. Only Kaldur and Conner seem to know what the two are talking about. M'gann continues, answering their unspoken questions. "Phantom introduced us to some teenagers who are always getting caught in the middle of his fights. They seemed to be good friends. They might have a way to call him!"

"Than what are we waiting for!" Wally shouts.

Robin lets a cocky smirk spread across his face. "Let's go find us a ghost!"

They rush out of the room and to the Bio-ship.

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

" _It's time."_

" _Commencing first test of Operation Take-Two."_

" _That's a horrible name. Who even came up with that?"_

" _Quiet, Witch Boy! Just do your part! As I was saying, this Operation will allow us to finish what we started last year. Putting the Justice League under the authority of The Light!"_

 _Danny tries to surface from the fog of his brain. Control... of the... league... He can't... let that... happen..._

" _This time, we will make sure to take out the mini-League as well. Let's begin."_

 _A shock rocks Danny's system, and all he knows is PAIN._

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

Robin exits the Bio-ship, using the ropes M'gann had it form to lower himself to the ground, where the rest of the Team are already waiting. Amity Park... is not looking good. It's very obvious that Phantom wasn't just not coming to the Cave, but that he's actually _missing_ , because they had seen the town's human ghost hunters running around like chickens with their heads cut off, trying to contain the ghosts running amuck.

Trading glances, Aqualad motions for Miss Martian form the Mind-link.

 _*Everyone online?*_

After everyone confirms, they follow their leader through the back alleys and over rooftops, searching for Phantom's civilian friends.

As they move through the city, they spot more then a few mini battles taking place between ghosts and hunters, but since the hunters seem to be handling it well, they continue on.

Finally, they find who they're looking for.

Three teens, one girl with black hair, one boy with brown skin and a red beret, and a second, slightly older girl with orange hair, fighting back-to-back and doing a very good job of holding their own against the murder of ghost crows that are swarming them.

 _*Team, help them,*_ Aqualad orders, and the teen heroes jump from the roof they'd stopped on, straight into the fight.

Within seconds, the vacuum sounds of the ghost containment devices going off fills the area, and the crows are all collected. The Team gather behind Aqualad, and find themselves standing opposite their civilian counterparts – though, with that display (Hey, why does display mean to show off if play means to horse around? Right, not the time.) of skill, Robin is kind of doubting they _**are**_ civilians.

Said teens stand in a triangle, the younger, black haired girl in the middle, with the older girl to her right, and the only boy to her left, both just a bit behind her. But, the balance is off. There's to much space between the middle girl and the boy, as if someone is supposed to be in between them, and despite her confident aura, it's easy to tell the girl is _**not**_ used to being the spokesperson for their team. Did that mean Phantom... was hiding just how close to these people he is?

"Not that we're ungrateful or anything," the middle one says with an almost dry quality to her voice. "but what are you doing here?"

"Sam," Aqualad greets with a nod of his head. "Jazz, Tucker. Forgive our intrusion. We were hoping that you would be able to lead us to Phantom, but judging by the state of your city..." he lets his voice trail off, looking around them at the slightly cratered road and buildings.

"Yeah," Sam says, looking around as well, with the air of someone who has already lost the battle. "Da-Phantom went missing the night of the ball. We've searched for him, but every time we try, the Booo-merang, the tracking device we use, leads out of the city, and we don't have any way of following without drawing attention."

Robin blinks. Was that the only problem?

"Wait!" Kid Flash shouts. "You have something that can track him?! Then why didn't you mention that, I don't know, when he went missing the first time?!"

Jazz is the one who answers, a rueful smile on her face. "Adults have a tendency to think they are always right, and don't listen to the younger generation."

KF deflates and stares at the ground, not bothering to make a comeback. Not that Robin can blame him. The female red-head _**had**_ just taken the wind out of his sails.

"We can do it!" Miss Martian chirps, gaining everyone's attention. She shrinks into herself slightly, a bit shocked by the sudden scrutiny. "I mean..."

"What Miss M. means," Artemis calls, taking the spotlight off her fellow girl, who looks grateful. "is that we can take your tracker and follow it to Phantom. We're also better equipped if he needs rescuing."

The three civilians trade glances, talking inverbally to each other, which shows just how close they are.

Finally, Sam sighs and turns back to the teen heroes, studying them.

" Tucker," she says, her eyes hard as she holds out her hand to him without taking her gaze off them.

"You sure, Sam?" The boy returns, fiddling with the phone in his hand.

"I am." With her assurance, the teen slides his backpack off his shoulders and digs in it for a moment, then pulls out a boomerang.

Robin does his best to contain his surprise. That... really didn't seem practical for a tracking device.

Tucker hands it to Sam, who walks over to them and holds it up so they can get a good look at the metallic thing.

"This is the Booo-merang." Sam says. "It's already keyed to D-Phantom's Ecto-signature, so all you have to do is throw it –" She demonstrates, launching it as you would any boomerang. It curves from it's original course and hovers off to the right, keeping there, as if waiting impatiently to be followed. "– and it'll fly in whatever direction he's in. It' been modified – the first would've just kept flying – and is controlled by this watch." She raises her arm, showcasing the metal gray, green-lined watch on her wrist, which she strips off and offers to Aqualad. Their leader holds his arm out, allowing her to hook it on his own wrist. "It's set not to go farther then five feet from the watch, and this button on the side here –" She must have pressed it, because the Booo-merang comes zooming at her. She easily catches it without looking. "– will recall it."

She steps back, meeting Aqualad's gaze with a serious look in her eye as she hands it over. "I expect to get that back once he's been found, or at least proof of it's destruction."

The Atlantean nods. "It will be, with luck, sent back with Phantom, by the end of the day, if he is able."

She returns his nod with an upward tilt of her head. "Bring him home."

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

 _No!_

 _PAIN._

 _He couldn't..._

 _PAIN._

 _Let..._

 _PAIN._

 _Them..._

 _PAIN._

 _Win..._

 _PAINPAINPAIN._

 _...RED._

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

Following the Booo-merang proves to be quite easy.

Once in the Bio-ship, Aqualad lets it loose, and Miss M. uses it as a guide. They fly out of Amity Park, over the country side surrounding it, and a few smaller cities.

Two hours after they left Phantom's hometown, the Booo-merang tries to head down, signaling their arrival... in the middle of nowhere.

"This it, than?" Rocket asks, leaning forward in her seat as she trades glances with a worried looking Zatanna.

"So it appears," Aqualad says wearily as he recalls the tracker.

"Then what are we waiting for,"Superboy growls, standing. "Let's go."

"Hold on, SB." Robin speaks up, also rising from his seat. "We need a plan."

"We do," Aqualad agrees. "We will split into two teams. Team A will be Rocket, Kid Flash, Superboy, Zatanna, and myself. We will find the entrance to this hidden base and provide a distraction so Team B, consisting of Robin, Miss Martian, and Artemis, can get inside and free Phantom." Aqualad looks around at them. Seeing no resistance, he continues. "Let's go rescue our teammate."

They set their plan in motion. After Aqualad gives the Booo-merang and it's controller to Robin, Team A sneaks into the forest and finds the entrance. Immediately, they make a nuisance of themselves by blowing the hidden door off it's frame and picking a fight with the guards.

In the commotion, Team B goes completely unnoticed. Once passed the guards, Robin throws the tracker and they proceed into the building. They make their way through hallways, down an elevator shaft, and through even _**more**_ hallways, all painted a simple white, as places like these tend to be.

Finally, the Booo-merang starts tapping a door at the end of the corridor with a quiet _tink... tink... tink..._

Nodding to each other, Robin hacks and opens the door, walking into the dark room beyond.

"Phantom?" he calls. "Are you here?"

For a moment, nothing happens. Robins about to turn on the night-vision in his mask, when there's a flash of red, and pain erupts at his temple. He falls.

After a second – or was it an eternity? – he tries to raise his head. All he sees is a black and white blur and red, red eyes glowing in the dark, before the world swirls, and everything goes black.

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

 **(AN)**

 **There's chapter thirteen, with another cliffhanger.**

 **Review replies below.**

 **foxchick1 : No one, but (SPOILER ALERT!) he is working _with_ someone, as some of the flashbacks above revealed.**

 **kimcat : Thank you. Like a Freaky Friday kinda thing? Sure, I can try that. Hmm...**

 **hrisi292 : I'm not going to kill Vlad, for two reasons. 1, I haven't gotten to the stage where I'm comfortable with writing a character's death. 2, he's a good plot device and Danny needs a rival/arch enemy who can take him down a peg or two. But if you P.M. me a description of your OC (personality, looks, powers/weapons, those kinda things) I'll see what I can do. No promises, though.**

 **Thank you all for reading. If you have any ideas, comments, or constructive criticism, feel free to leave a review. I may not be able to include any ideas you have, but I'll do my best to. Maybe not in this story, but they might be in another, or a oneshot if I like them enough.**

 **See you all next week.**


	14. Chapter 14

Arc 4 pt 2 : Where There's A Will, There's A Way

Robin wakes silently, not allowing himself to give an outward sign of his consciousness. He slits his eyes open, thankful that his mask hides the movement, and surveys what little he can see around him.

He's in a room wherein everything is white. White walls, white floors, white lights, white everything. He, himself, seems to be tied to a white chair, with equally white restraints.

Off to his left, he hears someone groan, which means he isn't the only one of his Team in here. That's good. They can work together to get out of this.

He looks out of the corner of his eye, trying to spot who's with him, but since he doesn't want to turn his head, he can't.

"Rob!" A familiar voice hisses. Well, that answers that question. KF is here. But, no his voice is coming from the right. What? "Rob! Wake up!" A beat of silence at Robin's continued stillness (he didn't want to give himself away so quickly, he needed more information about their situation). "Are you really unconscious or are you just doing that Bat thing were you pretend to be out cold?" Kid Flash asks in a deadpan voice, and Robin almost snickers. Wally knows him so well.

"Leave him alone, Baywatch." That was Artemis, to his left, which meant that the whole Team is probably in here, even if he can't see them.

"Yeah, Wal-Kid Flash." That is Miss Martian, also to his right. "He took a really hard hit to the head, he was in front of us, after all."

"Guys," Rocket groans from his left. "Please, stop talking. My head hurts to much to listen to your arguments."

There's a soft "Sorry, Rocket," from Miss Martian, and everyone is quiet for a few minutes.

Finally, the silence gets to be to much for KF. "Seriously," he says, "when are they gonna like, interrogate us or something. All this sitting and waiting is making me bored."

"That's a good thing," Robin can hear the eye-roll in the archer's voice.

"Look at it this way," Miss M. chimes in. "They aren't in here with us, which means they still haven't caught Superboy, Aqualad, and Zatanna, yet. So, there's a chance they'll get word to the League, and rescue us."

" _I wouldn't be to sure of that, children."_

Robin keeps extra still at the sound of the new, echoing, voice. It sounds vaguely familiar, and sleezy, like your typical cocky villain. Robin dislikes (heavy on the "dis") it instantly.

" _Our newest minion made certain they wouldn't be a problem."_

Robin hears Miss Martian gasp at the same time as Artemis shouts "Phantom!".

Robin forces himself to stay still. He has to focus. Now that no one is paying attention to him, he can work at getting out of these ropes, and escaping.

"What have you done to him?!" Artemis continues speaking harshly.

" _Why, my dear, I have done nothing to him at all. As a ghost, I am currently unable to lay a finger on him. My comrades, on the other hand... Well, let's just say you will find out for yourselves very soon."_ A pause. _"Remain here with them, Little Badger. We don't want them to escape before we can extend our hospitality to them, now do we?"_

As the others fall silent, Robin succeeds in getting his right arm free. He quickly grabs the rope before it can fall, and starts working at his left.

"Phantom." Wally says. "Dude, snap out of it!"

"That's not going to work, Kid," Miss Martian says.

"I don't – wait what are you doing?!" KF shouts. That... doesn't sound good.

Robin turns his head as subtly as he can, catching a glimpse of Phantom, red-eyed and wearing a suit that looks a lot like the one Robin had seen in the earlier pictures taken of him, reaching out and placing a hand on Kid's shoulder. Robin's breath gets caught in his throat. Phantom... Was Phantom going to hurt Wally?

The answer is, thankfully, no.

Both teens become partially see-through, and the ghost pulls the Speedster to his feet.

"Uh, wha..." KF says, wide-eyed.

From his seat, Robin sees Phantom close his red eyes, opening them a moment later to reveal his normal radioactive greens.

" _Sorry if I scared you,"_ he mutters quietly. _"I've been having a bit of trouble keeping focus when in Plasmius is around."_ He leaves the Boy Wonder's sight, probably freeing Miss M. _"Anyway, I managed to get the other three in here after Superboy jarred loose whatever thing they were using to keep me under their control."_

Robin feels the rope on him give. Hands free, he swiftly grabs and flicks two birdarangs to sever the ropes on his legs before standing and drawing everyone's attention.

"I told you." KF says, giving Artemis and Miss Martian a superior look.

Artemis scoffs. "Whatever."

Phantom snickers as he flies over to and frees her. _"As I was saying, they're collecting some data from the computer rooms, and will meet us out at the Bio-ship."_

He frees Rocket, who continues leaning on him for support. "Oh, I don't feel good." she moans.

" _Then let's get you out of here,"_ Phantom returns. _"Everyone, hold still."_

Robin feels a twisting sensation in his gut, before the world dissolves into a swirl of color and the feeling of moving at great speed. The ground disappears from beneath his feet, then returns a moment later in the familiar setting of the Bio-ship, their three other teammates already waiting for them.

Phantom grunts and staggers under Rocket's weight.

"Phantom!" M'gann cries, and Wally uses his super-speed to zoom to his side.

"Miss Martian," Aqualad speaks up in his "leader voice" as he moves forward as well, taking Rocket to rest her in a newly formed seat. "Get us back to base."

"Right," she moves to follow his order.

"Robin, help Kid get Phantom settled." Aqualad continues, and Robin obeys, taking the ghost's other shoulder and moving him to a chair. "Artemis, Zatanna, tend to Rocket."

Once Phantom's seated, the buckle snaps in place and a med-kit forms from the floor.

" _I'm sorry, guys,"_ Phantom says tiredly, eyelids drooping. _"That..."_ he yawns. _"...took more out of me then I expected."_

"It's okay, Phantom," Robin says with a smile. "Happens to everyone."

" _Maybe,"_ he murmurs. _"But... I didn't... want for you... to find out this way."_

"Dude," Wally says, "what are you talking about? Find out what?"

Phantom gives them an apologetic smile. _"I'm sorry."_ His eyes fully close, and Robin startles when a ring of white light appears around his waist, then splits in two, traveling up and down his body. Where the rings pass, he changes. Body-suit becomes a t-shirt and jeans. Boots become tennis shoes. Skin turns from tan to slightly pale. White hair becomes black.

"Guys," Superboy says, "he has a heartbeat."

Robin feels his stomach drop. That... That should not be possible. It-it's _im_ possible. It just...

Robin pulls a glove off, struggling with for a moment in his haste, then takes the other teens wrist in hand. It takes a second, but the Boy Wonder can feel it, the sluggish pulse under his fingertips. He leans back on his heels, gazing up at the others and nodding in disbelief.

"M'gann," Aqualad says, "send a message ahead, we need to make sure they now before they start treating him."

"Message sent." She confirms, and Robin focuses back on caring for his unconscious teammate.

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

Robin fiddles with his wrist computer, pulling up pages just to exit out of them again, as he and the rest of Team await the verdict on Phantom's condition.

When they had gotten to the Cave, Batman and Black Canary had been waiting for them with two doctors and five nurses they have on pay-role who had experience dealing with unique physiology and keeping secret identities. They had disappeared with Phantom into the Cave's med-bay and told the teens they would be alerted when they were done. Only one of the nurses had remained behind to tend to Rocket, and, after making sure that none of them required medical assistance, left to join her comrades.

That had been five, six hours ago, and the teens were still waiting for word on their teammate.

Finally, Conner stands, facing the hallway leading to the infirmary, and the Team knows they're finished.

Batman walks through the doorway, and scans his eyes over them. "He's awake," is all he says, then he swoops out of the room with the teens scrambling to follow.

The Dark Knight leads them in, and Robin immediately only has eyes for his not-so-ghostly teammate.

Phantom is sitting on his bed, back against the headboard. He looks over at them, with icy blue eyes, then quickly looks away, using one of the nurses adjusting his pillow as an excuse to do so.

"Team," Batman says, "meet Daniel Fenton, the civilian half of Phantom. He has just come out of surgery to remove a mind control chip, different from the Starro Tech, an hour ago. The only reason you are being allowed to meet him –" here he glares at Pha-er, Daniel, who shrinks into his bed "– is because of his super-healing, which has taken care of the majority of the incision."

With his piece said, Batman swoops out of the room, the medical team following in his wake.

Black Canary stops by them for a moment, a small smile on her face. "For what it's worth, happy Thanksgiving." Her eyes flicker to Daniel. "All of you." Then she's gone, too.

The teens stand there, not really sure how handle the night's revelations.

At last, the silence is broken.

"I'm sorry." Daniel says. "I didn't mean for you to find out this way. I just –" he takes a deep, shuddering breath "– I've been alone in this for so long, with only my friends and my sister for any kind of support, and I just... I couldn't find a way to tell you." He finally looks at them, meeting their gazes one-on-one before settling on Aqualad, then looks down again, his bangs shadowing his eyes. "I understand if you don't want me around anymore, and I'll leave without a fight."

Robin's stomach clenches. Did Daniel actually think they would kick him off the Team?

"Phantom," M'gann says, "er, Daniel?"

Said teen flinches. "Danny. Please."

"Right, Danny," she says. "We don't want you to leave."

"Yeah, dude," Wally adds.

"You are apart of this Team." Kaldur confirms. "You belong here."

"And," Robin says as he moves to perch on the edge of the bed. "You'll never be alone again."

Artemis nods. "If you ever need help, just let us know."

"You're our friend, Danny," M'gann finishes. "We take care of our friends."

"I –" a watery smile is sent their way when Danny raises his head. "Thank you. You have no idea what that means to me."

"Great," Wally claps his hands. "Now that the mushy stuff is over, lets go get something to eat. I'm starving."

The room can hear Danny's stomach growl in agreement, which sets everyone laughing.

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

 **(AN)**

 **There we go, chap. 14.**

 **I'm... not quite what happened. The big reveal wasn't supposed to be until the fifth Arc. It kinda just... snuck up on me, but I'm actually quite happy with it, which is why I'm keeping it this way.**

 **Review answers!**

 **kimcat : I think I will have fun with this, too. And I hope this meets your standards. Thank you for reading.**

 **Thank you all for reading. If you have any ideas, comments, or constructive criticism, please click that little button at the bottom that says "Review". I love reading all the little messages you people leave.**

 **See you all next week.**


	15. Chapter 15

Intermission 6 : Decking the Halls, But In A Roundabout Kinda Way

Dedicated to kimcat for the idea.

"He exists!"

"No he doesn't!"

Danny flips from laying on his back to his stomach, grabbing his pillow and pulling it over his head. Just like everything else he'd tried in the last hour, it does nothing to block out his parents annual Christmas fight downstairs. To his surprise, both adult Fentons had held off starting this argument, but it had blown up over dinner when his dad had mentioned Santa, which had of course set his mom off, and suddenly both had forgotten their promise to **not** fight this year. He had made himself scarce as soon as he had realized what was happening, but that didn't mean he couldn't still _**hear**_ what is going down there (curse his super-hearing) and feel the _incredulous-determination-exasperation_ from his mom and the _faith-determination-righteous-anger_ that exuded from his dad.

Honestly, he's also glad they hadn't started this sooner. Its the sixteenth of December, six days until he is set to take The Third Right, and he's been internally freaking out about it. Not that his parents _**knew**_ that, but...

Anyways, he is a bit relieved he got a small reprieve thisyear, even if it wasn't as much as he'd like.

Downstairs, something shatters, and Danny clenches his fists in his pillowcase, then relaxes as he takes a deep breath. He can't stay here anymore, Danny decides. To do so would be putting everyone in danger, especially with the way this new power was developing.

(He wasn't as in control as he would like, and he had been warned, by Clockwork , that he would need to keep his emotions from getting to him, until the end of The Third Right, or else.)

Danny roles out of bed and pulls at the energy of his Core, bringing it out and allowing the cool white rings to cross over his body.

He phases through his bedroom wall and starts a quick pace to the nearby Zeta-tube. He's relieved he doesn't have to worry about keeping his identity from the Team anymore, even if he didn't want them to find out the way they had. They truly accept him as one of their own, and that is all that matters to Danny.

He could, of course, visit Sam and Tucker, except he can't. Sam is out of town with her family, and Tucker had his own grandparents visiting. So, hanging out with the Team it is.

Not that it's a bad thing. He could use some time away from Amity, anyway.

Danny lands in the alley the Zeta-tube was placed and steps in, activating it.

 _"Recognized : Phantom B10."_

Danny floats out and stops dead in his tracks, dropping to the ground in surprise and staring at the spectacle before him.

The rest of the Team is present, in costume, except for the horribly clashing ugly Christmas sweaters and Santa/Elf/Reindeer hats their all wearing.

"Phantom!" Robin chirps, smiling and pouncing over, causing the green and red Elf hat to jingle and bob, his blue knitted sweater with shining lights on a tree twinkling merrily. "We were starting to think you wouldn't show." He plops a red Reindeer antler hat on Danny's head. The Ghost Boy, still in shock, can only stare at him.

" _Uh, what?"_ Danny finally manages.

"You didn't know?" The other teen asks, then whirls around to the rest of the Team. "M'gann, you said you told everyone."

The Martian blinks. "I did." she says. "I mean, I left a message on the comms – Hello, Megan! He must not have noticed." She turns to Danny with a sheepish smile. "Sorry, Danny. We're going Christmas Caroling in Gotham. Would you come with us? Please?" She clasps her hands in front of her and gives Danny the Puppy-Dog-EyesTM.

He smiles. Danny may not like the Holiday Season much, but he had only heard of people Caroling, and had always wanted to try. _"Sure, sounds fun."_

Megan cheers. "I'll be right back! I have a sweater in your size!" She flies off, deeper into the cave.

Danny turns to his other friends. _"So, what songs are we going to sing, and who are we singing for?"_

"Mostly just random citizens." Robin answers, leading Danny into the midst of the group.

"No going to Arkham again, Rob." Wally, dressed in his regular Kid Flash costume with a horrid neon green knitted sweater that had a lot of yarn cats and dogs sown on, gives his best friend a glare. "The first three times were bad enough." He shudders and hugs himself. "Never again."

"But the inmates need _something_ to look forward to during the Holidays." The Boy Wonder says with a completely serious face. "It's become a tradition. Besides, if we don't, they'll stage a breakout and cause a bunch of trouble."

"Robin," Aqualad interrupts. "I can admire you willingness to makeup with you villains, but I believe we should keep this outing to the residential areas. I am sure Batman will allow you to perform for them another time, if it truly keeps them in Arkham during the Christmas."

Robin let's out a dejected sigh. "Fine, even though Caroling sounds better in a group," he grumbles.

"Thank you."The Atlantean returns.

Megan zooms back into the room, holding a sunny yellow sweater. "What do you think?" She asks, raising it up to reveal the reindeer and Santa's sleigh decorating it, said deer and Santa himself wearing sunglasses.

" _It's definitely an ugly Christmas sweater."_ Danny says, wincing at how bright it looks in the light.

"Thanks!" she giggles happily. "I was trying to make sure they were all as clashing as possible, with each other and everyone's costumes. Your's was the hardest, I mean, hello Megan, white and black go with just about everything. But, it works out!"

Danny takes it from her and phases into it. _"Well, what do you think?"_ he asks, spreading his arms out.

"Disgustingly mismatching," Artemis, in a bright purple and red sweater with a collection of snowflake designs and an Elf hat, says. "Just like the rest of us."

"Yep," Megan chirps. "Now, let's go!" she grabs Superboy's hand and starts tugging him toward the hanger.

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

 _KNOCK KNOCK._

Danny hovers in the back of the group with Megan and Rocket as Robin takes a step back from the door he'd just knocked on, waiting for the resident to answer.

He had been having a lot of fun this last hour. They'd sang Christmas Carols, danced around a Christmas tree in a park with some of the kids occupying it, knocked on dozens of doors, and basically be the teenagers they are. It was nice, not having the wait of the world on your shoulders.

Up in front, Robin knocks on the door again. "Huh," he mumbles, "I could have sworn someone was home." He steps back and turn to everyone. "Oh, well. Let's go guys, to the next house."

As he's turning, Danny notices a glint in one of the dirty windows. He narrows his eyes. What is that?

A light purple glow, so faint he can barely make it out. That couldn't be right.

Danny tries to track were it is pointed, spotting... No.

" _Robin!"_ Danny lunges right as a lavender bolt of energy darts for him, wrapping his arms around the slightly smaller teen and tapping into his Core to turn them intangible. The energy flows through them, and despite their untouchable state, Danny can still feel it strike. His vision swirls, a kaleidoscopic of colors tinted in purple, and his legs give out from under him.

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

Danny comes to slowly, feeling weak and out of place. Also, hot. Far, far to hot, especially in his chest. He hadn't felt this kind of heat since the accident, and he'd gotten... his... Ghost... Core.

Oh, gosh.

He couldn't feel his Core.

He couldn't feel it. _At all._

 _He couldn't feel it. Whycouldn't he feel? **This wasn't possible. How could somethingtakehisCoreitwasn'tpossiblewherewashis –**_

A firm weight presses onto Danny arm, pulling him from his thoughts (and what he would later realize was a panic attack), causing him to look around him through a strange white film.

He's in the Cave infirmary. This is good. They'll help him find his missing Core.

A gentle squeeze on his arm attracts his attention. He looks up, meeting white lenses of Batman's mask.

"Sir?" Danny mutters, then immediately coughs at his dry throat.

"Robin." The Dark Knight grabs a cup with a straw from a side table and holds it in front of Danny's mouth.

He takes a sip, then his brain catches up with what Batman called him and he chokes.

"Um, sir," Danny manages after clearing his throat. "I'm not Robin."

Batman goes still and seems to narrow his eyes. How do you convey narrowing your eyes when you're wearing what is essentially a pare of sunglasses?

"What did you say?"

Danny gulps, and repeats himself a bit louder. "I'm not Robin. I'm Danny."

Batman shifts his attention to something behind Danny, who turns to see what he's looking at, only to discover... himself?

But that doesn't make sense, he's right here.

Wait, Batman thought he's Robin, so that means...

Danny looks down, black gloves and pants meeting his vision. Red and black uniform, yellow highlights, the signature "R" insignia.

"I'm... Robin?" Danny whispers in shock.

Suddenly, Batman turns, cape swirling behind him. "Explain the situation to Robin when he wakes up. Don't leave the infirmary until I get back." He orders, and then he's gone.

Danny blinks after him, dazed by the abrupt departure.

"So. That just happened."

Danny jerks around to spot that Robin (in Danny's body, that's going to take some getting used to) is now sitting up in his own bed, a bit wide-eyed but otherwise okay.

"Wait, were you..."

"Awake this whole time? Yep." He smiles mischievously. "I was trying to see how long it would take for Bats to notice I was awake. He didn't. At all. Which means I finally got one over him, that he'll ever admit it."

"Right." Danny says. "What now? I mean, its not like we can leave."

"Actually," he smiles sheepishly. "I could use some help." He removes the sheet over his legs to reveal... his legs aren't in bed, but phasing through it.

Danny hand flies to his mouth, trying (and failing) to hold his laughter in.

"Yeah, ha ha, laugh it up. So not 'turbing."

Danny gets his mirth under control. "No-no, its not you. Its just, I had that same problem for _months_ after I got my powers," he gets out of his bed and walks over. "It was so bad I was banned for life from holding the school beakers cause they kept slipping through my hands. My English teacher even gave me a belt after catching me right after my pants slipped down one to many times."

Robin snickers. " 'Asterous."

"Not to me." Danny says. "It was mortifying." He offers a hand to the other. "C'mon, I'll help you walk through the bed and then we can work on getting it under control."

Robin grabs his forearm. At the contact, Danny can feel a phantom blossoming of his Core in his Chest.

Danny looks at his teammate. "I think I can switch us back."

"Really?"

"Yeah, just... focus on being untouchable."

"Right."

It takes a moment, but finally the other arm slips through his fingers. Yet again Danny's vision swirls in a multitude of colors, this time tinted green, then goes black.

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

The next time Danny opens his eyes, he finds himself only a few inches from a white lensed domino mask.

He yelps, scrambling backwards as Robin laughs.

"Gotcha," the Boy Wonder says cheerfully.

"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up." Danny grumbles.

"Hey, look at it this way. We're back in our own bodies." He waves his hands down at himself to emphasize his point.

"True." Danny admits. "Let's just... _**never**_ do this again, okay?"

"Yeah. So not 'whelming."

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

 **(AN)**

 **And there's chapter 15.**

 **Once again, this one goes to kimcat, who asked for accidental body-switching. You rock, kimcat! Thank you!**

 **Review answers.**

 **foxchick1 : Thank goodness. I found it rushed and kinda anticlimactic, and it kinda snuck up on me, but I still like it, and it works. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **Thank you all for reading! If you have any ideas, comments, or constructive criticism, don't be afraid to click that little button at the bottom that says "Review". I love reading what you guys have to say, and it helps keep the creative juices flowing.**

 **See you all next week.**


	16. Chapter 16

Arc 5 : Anything That Can Go Wrong, Will Go Wrong

Robin sighs, bored out of his mind, as he looks down at the cards in his hand.

The Team were all hanging out in the lounge, playing different card games and trying to entertain themselves while waiting to see if they'll have any missions. Well, it had started as them decorating the Cave for Christmas, but now they were done and sitting around, listening to Christmas music, eating cookies and drinking hot chocolate. As fun as it was, they had run out of the more interesting card games and were now playing...

"Go fish, Zatanna," Danny says, not bothering to look up from his cards. "Any aces, Robin?"

The Boy Wonder sighs again, and shifts to better see his hand. "No, go fish."

 _"Bat-Clan Override."_

Robin jumps to his feet at the computer's sudden activation, now fully alert and takes off in a full-blown sprint. The only reason any of his fellow Bats would use any kind of override into the League system was if there's an emergency, and that was never a good sign.

 _"Code : JT-W10-2006-MF4. Recognized : Red Hood."_

Robin reaches the Zeta-tubes just as his older brother exits. Behind him, his teammates skid to a halt, falling into ready stances as they stare at the anti-hero of Gotham.

"Hood," Robin says, "what –?"

"Quiet, Birdy." The older Fledgling interrupts, holding up a hand as he turns to the Zeta control systems. He slips a chip into it, which causes the computer to give a shrill chime and shut down completely.

"Dude, what did you do that for?!" Wally shouts.

Red Hood turns to Robin, seeming to not notice, or, more likely, care, about the Speedster's outburst . "Robin, are there any League members present." It's not phrased as a question and Robin can easily read between the lines.

 _Something has happened to the League. We need to get away from them._

The rest of the Team immediately raises a stink, shouting and inching closer, ready for a fight.

Robin swings around to glare them into silence. This was important, and Team or not, his Clan, _his Family_ , came first.

He turns back to his brother. "No, none that I know of, but Red Tornado should be back in about half-an-hour."

Hood shifts, a sign of nervous energy and being short on time. "We need to get out of here." He says. "Is there any way to leave that will make it hard to be tracked?"

"Yes," Robin answers. "The Bio-ship."

"Let's go." Hood walks to him, and Robin falls into step with his older brother.

The other teen heroes, on the other hand, stand in their way, still gearing up for a fight (except Phantom, who had changed form and now just looks confused).

"Robin," Kaldur says in his leader voice, a serious look on his face. "What is going on?"

"Look, we don't have time to waste. I'll explain everything once we get out of here." Red Hood tries to get everyone moving, but with no luck.

"We're not going anywhere with you!" Artemis shouts, bringing her bow up to aim at him. "I know who you are! You're Red Hood, a Gotham drug lord and murderer."

" _Wait,"_ Phantom calls out, floating closer. _"If he's a drug lord, how'd he get into the Cave?"_

"He's more then a drug lord." Robin snickers mischievously. "He's a Bat, and my brother."

The others jaws practically hit the ground, wide-eyed and staring.

Robin laughs out loud, making a mental to hack into the Caves cameras and get pictures of there faces later.

Suddenly, the Zeta-tubes flash, emitting a whirling sound, before turning back off.

Red Hood let's out a word that should not be spoken in polite company, and starts stirring everyone away. "There trying to remotely restart the system. We need to leave. Now. I'll explain everything once we get up in the air, I swear."

This time, the teens follow willingly, if cautiously, and they make their way to the hangers as a group.

Within five minutes, they're leaving Mount Justice behind.

"Alright, Hood," Artemis says crossing her arms and giving him the stink eye. "Talk. What is going on?"

He takes off his helmet, revealing black hair with a white strip in his bang, and a muted red domino mask. He runs his fingers through his hair and leans forward with a sigh. "I guess I should start at the beginning.

"A little less then a month ago, I got a call from Bats. You see, Bats and I have some... differences of opinion, so he usually sends one of the other Clan members to talk to me if he wants something, either Agent A or Baby Bird here, mostly." He motions to Robin, who blushes slightly at the childish nickname. "So it was a bit of a surprise for him to call personally.

"He wanted me to investigate the reason that Spooky," he nods toward Phantom, whose sitting to the left of them, "got kidnapped. I was supposed to work with Oracle, as our hacker, and RedBird, as my back up. What we found... wasn't good.

"The Light were in the final phases of perfecting an upgrade to the Starro Technology, using ectoplasm collected from ghosts volunteered by Vlad Plasmius. Somehow, they used it to find a way to overcome the vaccine you created.

"We,my team and I, were just bringing our findings to Batman, when The Light somehow found our safe-house. Only Oracle was there, finishing up and putting equipment away. She didn't make it out."

Robin stills, feeling the world crash down around him. Barbara may have been a good six years older then him, but she had been a staple in his life since he'd joined the Bat-Clan, the Batgirl of Terry's and Damian's time. It had devastated the Clan when Joker had paralyzed her (though Jason's death, as BlueJay, had been worse). To loose her now...

"I don't know where they took her, but I do know she's still alive, if under mind-control." Robin releases a inaudible sigh at his older brother's words, relieved. "That being said, she got The Light's men into the Watchtower, and through there, into the Bat Cave. RedBird and Batgirl bought me some time to get to you kids, and gave me a chip that, if placed in a connected computer, would shut down the entire Zeta-tube system. Of course, judging by the way it was trying to start back up, I have no doubt that Red's been assimilated.

"We need to make a plan to free the others, but to do that we need a better understanding of how Overshadowing works." He leans back in his seat and looks to Phantom. "Well, Spooky?"

Phantom rubs the back of his neck, and gives a sheepish smile. _"I... don't really know."_ He says, then raises his hands to hold off the cacophony that surely would have followed. _"I didn't even know what was happening when I did it the first time. I was just intangible and moved to touch someone and just got... sucked in. It was kinda weird."_

"Right," Hood says, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Do you know anyone who might?"

" _My parents might."_ He admits after a brief hesitation. _"But they still think all ghosts are evil, so..."_ He trails off.

"That's fine," Hood returns. "We'll handle it when we get there."

"Very well," Kaldur says. "M'gann, set a course for the Fenton's residence."

"Already on it, Aqualad."

Suddenly, the Bio-ship jerks to the side. Lights flash, and there's a heavy _ **thud.**_

Robin hangs on to his seat tightly as the ship shudders a second time, almost flipping.

"M'gann!" Aqualad shouts.

"I don't know, Aqualad! Its coming from the ground!" A third hit, this one harder, rocks them yet again. "Everyone hang on tight!" Miss M continues. "We're going down!"

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

 **(AN)**

 **(Runs onto screen.) I'm here! (Pants with hands on knees for a moment before continuing.)**

 **Sorry I'm late, guys. This week has been pretty busy. I didn't get to write as much as I would have liked, nor is this chapter as long as I would like, but, oh, well, nothing I can do about it right now.**

 **Review replies!**

 **foxchick1 : A combination of the lazor-beam and Danny's ectoplasm. Other then that, no idea.**

 **kimcat : You're welcome. I... haven't decided yet. I'm debated both them being there and them not, so it could go either way.**

 **hrisi292 : Why thank you.**

 **Morning Bleach : I could try, I'm not really sure I would do it though. Any suggestions?**

 **Thank you all for reading. If you have any comments, ideas, constructive criticism, or spot anything in need of correcting, make sure to leave a review.**

 **See you all next week.**


	17. Chapter 17

Arc 5 pt 2 : Follow Me, Set Me Free

Danny watches as Robin and his brother – and wasn't that a surprise – descend from the tree where the Bio-ship had crashed, joining the rest of the Team on the ground.

The landing had been rough, and the Martian space-craft had taken the blunt of it. All Danny could tell was that it was scratched up, but by the way Megan was staring at it and wincing, it was probably worse then it looked.

"Okay, Megan?" Artemis asks, setting a hand on the Martian's shoulder.

"Yeah, just... she's really hurt. She's not going anywhere for a while." Megan gazes worriedly up at the Bio-ship. Superboy comes up behind her and pulls her away from the archer and into a hug.

"We need to get moving –" Red Hood breaks in, stepping forward and sweeping his eyes over them all, "– before whatever shot us down catches up. Will your ship be okay if we leave it here?" He looks to Megan at his question, who nods.

"She'll be fine."

Between one blink and the next, the Bio-ship fades from visibility, blending in with leaves and forest almost seamlessly.

"Right," Red Hood crosses his arms. "Now we need some way to get to the Fentons. Anyone got any ideas?"

Danny clears his throat and raises his hand. He tries not to flinch under the intense gaze of the anti-hero, which was somehow worse then any of the villains he had faced. The only person Danny had met who was even more severe was Batman, which, he supposed, is to be expected, considering Batman was probably the one to train Red Hood.

" _I can, uh..."_ Danny coughs, clearing his throat, then tries again. _"I can teleport us all there."_

A beat of silence.

"Then what are you waiting for?" Red Hood snaps.

Danny startles slightly. Calming himself, he sends out his ectoplasm to surround them all, and focuses on the image of an alley about a block from his house.

Instead of his teleportation, another power, the newest one, the one of the Crown, tries to break free. Danny wrestles with it, keeping it at bay by the skin of his teeth. To use it here and now, when its so out of control and imbalanced, would spell disaster.

He firmly shoves it aside and grabs his teleportation with two metaphorical hands, sending them hurtling through space to his home town.

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

Danny sighs, leaning against the brick wall behind him as they leave FentonWorks. It was hard at first, getting his parents to listen to them, but they now have a way to override the ghostly Starro Tech.

The only thing they had to do now was get to the League, and use the modified Specter Deflectors to free them.

"You 'traught, Phantom?"

Danny gives a wain smile to Robin, who has a concerned look on his face.

" _I'm fine, Robin. Its just a bit draining, dealing with them while in Ghost Form."_

"I could tell," he says. "I was just standing there watching and I still feel like I just ran a marathon." He stretches, arms above his head and arching his back. "So, lead us to the local Zeta-tube, and I'll hack us into the Watchtower."

" _Right."_

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

Danny flies down the white-gray corridor of the Justice League's space station (He. Is. In. Space! How awesome is this?!) while keeping a tight hold on Zatanna, who had been assigned as his partner for this mission. Their main objective was to find Doctor Fate, as the League's magical heavy hitter, before moving on to any other League members they could find. No one was to engage whatever Light members were here until the mind-controlled heroes had all been taken down.

 _*Just encountered BC.*_ Kid Flash's voice rings through their heads. _*Successfully applied the modified SD. The chip bubbled out of her neck. It was kinda gross.*_

 _*Focus, babe.*_ Artemis, who is paired with him, cuts in. _*She's unconscious, so we put her in a closet.*_

 _*Where?*_ Robin, paired with his brother somewhere in the station, asks.

A beat of silence, in which Danny and Zatanna reach the end of the hall and peak around the corner, finding Doc. Fate walking away from them, just like the Boy Wonder's directions – given before they split up and updated every other minute – implied.

 _*The one just to the left of the infirmary.*_ The archer reports.

 _*Right, I've marked it down. Continue on to Flash.*_

With the affirmation ringing in his head, Danny reaches out and places his hand on the ground, sending out a pulse of Ghost Ice that snakes across the floor and up the Lord of Order's legs, quickly encasing him in it's elemental power.

Danny releases Zatanna, who hurries to her fellow magic user and hooks the mini Specter Deflector around his neck.

There's a sizzling sound and smoke rises from his the collar-like device, then the chip bubbles out and falls to the ground with a light _**tink**_.

 _*Oh, I think I'm gonna hurl.*_ Zatanna says, covering her mouth with a swift hand.

Danny can agree that its not a pretty sight, but he had seen worse from his own ghost fighting, so is able to hold in his gag reflex.

 _*We got Fate.*_ He reports as he dissolves his ice. _*Hey Robin, know a good place to stash him?*_

 _*Two doors down to your right, there's a storage closet for the station's shuttles.*_

 _*Thanks.*_

 _*No problem. When you're done, continue down that corridor and hang a left. You'll find Plastic Man in the hall. He seems to be replacing light bulbs.*_

 _*On it.*_

Danny and Zatanna finish hiding Doctor Fate – while listening to Rocket and Aqualad call in about the successful capture of Aquaman and Captain Atom – and follow Robin's instructions, continuing down the corridor and finding Plastic Man changing out lights in the darkened hall. The only source of illumination is the emergency lights in the walls. The stretchy hero seemed to have gotten caught in a rhythm of taking off the light cover, twisting out the dead tube bulb, replacing it with a new one, and putting the cover back on.

Danny quickly calls on his invisibility to obscure his partner and himself from the adult's view, then sneaks them closer.

 _*I'll float us right up to him. You hook on the Specter Deflector.*_ Danny says, gaining a bit of height at his words.

 _*Let's do it.*_ She agrees, reaching into the bag she's carrying and pulling one out.

Danny brings them closer, within arm reach of the older hero. Zatanna holds the Deflector out, about to place it on their target.

 _*Guys, we got Flash!*_

Danny startles, flickering into visibility for a moment, at the younger Speedster's excited announcement. He floats backward and looks over Plastic Man, relieved to see that the man hadn't noticed them, somehow.

 _*Don't do that, Kid!*_ Zatanna shouts. _*You almost gave us away!*_

 _*Heh, sorry, guys.*_

Danny roles his eyes and refocuses on their target. Within a few seconds, Plastic Man is on the floor, unconscious, the chip laying innocently next to him.

Not a minute later, Danny and Zatanna are on their way to the main observation room, where Robin reported the rest of the teen heroes were gathered, fighting the Light and the big three of the Justice League : Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman.

They turn the final corner to find the observatory a wreck and the battle still in full swing. Robin and Red Hood seem to be in a brawl with Batman and... someone that Danny didn't recognize, but is wearing the Bat emblem, so is probably another one of Batman's trainees (just how many of them did he have?), Superboy and Miss Martian are somehow holding their own against Superman, and Aqualad and Rocket are facing Wonder Woman.

Meanwhile, Kid Flash and Artemis loosing their own fight against Sportsmaster and Cheshire, who they're trying to get passed to reach Klarion the Witch Boy and...

 _*Plasmius!*_ Danny snarls, glaring at the other Halfa.

 _*Stay 'turbed, Phantom.*_ Robin calls over.

 _*Good to see you two.*_ Kid says, dodging a punch. _*Now if could come_ help us, _that would be even better!*_

 _*We're coming, Wally.*_ Zatanna says.

Danny quickly flies over, intent on facing his arch nemesis. He drops Zatanna, vaguely noting her already shouting spells, as he charges toward the two apparent masterminds of this plan... and, like a Looney Toons' character, slams right into a Ghost Shield.

He pushes off of it to glare at Vlad, who is laughing at him.

" _Oh, Daniel, when will you ever learn, that I always have a back up plan. You'll never get passed this dome. Mwa-ha-ha-ha."_

Danny blinks. This is a dome? Not a sphere? He allows a smirk to cross his face, before sinking into the ground and whipping forward, pass the line of the GS, and out of the ground, striking Vlad with a ferocious uppercut.

" _Never say never, Plasmius."_ Danny says, cocky smirk still present on his face. He reaches back and pulls Drako Kanalo from it's sheath, settling into a ready stance.

" _Oh, butter biscuis."_ Vlad says, standing from where he'd fallen and holding his bleeding nose. _"You, Little Badger, need to learn not to mess with your betters."_

The older Halfa charges, fists bazing magenta with ectoplasm. At the same time, a calm falls over Danny, who can feel his new power rushing to the surface and into his sword. This time, he let's it. At the last possible moment, Danny flashes forward, passing Vlad and scraping Drako Kanalo across the man's side.

The Ghost Boy comes to a stop, sword at his hip, and looks over his shoulder at the Halfa that had been a thorn in his side for a year now, looking on dispassionately as he clutches at the wound, which is now glowing with an internal light.

" _Daniel,"_ he gasps. _"What have you done?"_

" _I'll deal with you later, Fruit-loop, when it's just you and me."_ Danny says, and watches in fascination as the green glow grows bigger, until it forms a portal to the Ghost Zone, which sucks Vlad in, screaming.

Danny sighs as the portal winks out of existence, releaved that's over with. Then, he remembersthat there is one more villian to beat. He pivots one his heel, loking around for the Lord of Chaos, only to find him gone.

Another look, this time around the whole room, reveals his teammates standing over the adult heroes and tending to each others injuries.

Danny floats over to Robin and Red Hood, who are looking over an unknown, unconscious red-headed woman in a wheelchair.

Robin smiles up at Danny as soon as he notices him. "This is Oracle, the original Batgirl. I'm really glad she's okay."

Danny nods and returns the smile. He sits a little way away from them and allows the cool beams of his transformation to flow over him. It's been a long day, and Danny could use a few moments of rest.

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

It takes five hours for the adults to all wake up, and another ten for Danny to be excused to go home. He had managed to sleep three of those hours away, and all he wanted was to head to bed.

But, as he exits the Amity Park Zeta-tube, Danny knows there's one more thing that needs to be done today.

Silently, he sneaks into his house and into the Ghost Zone. He spends the next thirty minutes flying to his destination. Once there, he finds a crowd of ghosts gathered in front of the gates and mingling in the courtyard.

He reaches the edge of the crowd, which parts as soon as they notice him, allowing him to float through them and to the platform that had been set up just for this occasion.

Danny lands and walks up the steps, stopping a few feet from Fright Knight, who is standing there, waiting for him.

Fright gives him a nod, which Danny returns, before turning as one to the crowd.

" _WE ARE GATHERED HERE TODAY, TO WITNESS THE UNDERTAKING OF The Third Right, THE FINAL CHALLENGE ALL ELLIGIBLE FOR THE THRONE MUST PASS TO ASSEND. DANIEL PHANTOM PASSED The First Right WHEN HE DEFEATED OUR FORMER KING, PARIAH DARK, IN COMBAT. HE PASSED The Second Right WHEN HE BESTED THE CROWN'S MOST POWERFUL KNIGHT IN COMBAT._

" _BUT The Third Right, IS NOT ABOUT COMBAT. IT IS ABOUT A DIFFERENT CHALLENGE ALTOGETHER. OUR FUTURE RULER MUST BE ABLE TO BARE THE WEIGHT OF THE ENTIRE GHOST ZONE ON THEIR SHOULDERS. AND SO, HE MUST BARE THE SYMBALS OF OUR KING, THE RING OF RAGE, AND CROWN OF FIRE."_

Danny does his best to control his breathing. He had gone over what is about to happen a million times with Clockwork. There is no need to be nervous.

Silently, he kneels, offering Fright Knight his right hand, which the Spirit of Halloween immediately grabs and slips the Ring onto. Danny bites his tongue to keep from making any noise as the foreign energy drills itself into his Core, wrapping itself around his empathic abilities, usually so muted he barely feels them, and enhancing them a thousand fold, crushing him under the weight of every emotion of every ghost in existence.

Danny wrestles with it, pulling it back into his Core inch by painful inch, until he can finally lock it inside the frozen orb in his chest.

Suddenly, he's aware of his panting breaths, heard easily in the loud silence of the courtyard. Danny looks up, meeting Fright's eyes, before bowing his head.

A moment later, he feels the Crown nestle into his sweaty white lockes, and is once again overwhelmed by the sensation, only this time, he can feel the Zone in it's entiredy. He can feel every ghost, where they are, what they're doing. He can feel every eddie of energy, every movement of ectoplasmic.

And he can feel just how _**broken**_ it all is. The ectoplasm, out of control and unbalance from so long without a true ruler, a caring ruler, a patient ruler, reaches willingly for him, like a hurt child for their parent. Danny accepts it, cupping it in his hands and offering it his own ectoplasm, soothing over the painful burns of corruption and tyrany.

Suddenly back on the platform again, within that tiny courtyard yet craddling the entire Ghost Zone in his hands, Danny stands and faces his subjects, _**his people**_.

Next to him, Fright Knight falls to his knees, bowing deeply.

" _ALL HAIL CROWN PRINCE PHANTOM, FUTURE KING OF THE INFINITE REALMS!"_

 _~! #$%^ &*()_+_

 **(AN)**

 **Here it is, the final chapter of The Phantom of the Dragon Temple.**

 **A week late.**

 **Yeah, sorry about that.**

 **Review replies!**

 **Morning Bleach : Sorry, I'd like to do something like that, but I skipped that because I wasn't sure how. You'll notice that being a theme in my stories.**

 **TheFishKing : Not in this story, no, but I can see about including it in another.**

 **Hrisi292 : Why, thank you. I absolutely adore the Bat Bros, I really wish there was more YjxDP crossovers with them.**

 **Thank you all for reading! If you have any ideas, corrections, or comments, leave it in the reviews.**


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